Aylo and Sylnarri
by CarpeChodeum
Summary: Aylo is a troubled draenei. She lives in self imposed isolation in an attempt to come to terms with her bloody and violent past. While out walking one day, she chances upon a blood elf in need and saves her life. The pair quickly form a strong bond, but world events are reaching a critical mass once again, threatening another war.
1. Aylo

The summer sun shone brightly that morning; its rays penetrating the forest canopy and illuminating the ground below, bathing it in light. Aylo had been living in this forest for many years, and she knew from experience that it was a prime day to go gather some ingredients that she desperately needed—she wanted to make her favorite dish tonight but she was in short supply of the required materials. Woven basket in hand, she opened the door of her home and stepped out. She paused momentarily, fingers on her temples and eyes closed, running through her mental checklist to make sure that she didn't forget anything. Satisfied that she hadn't, she closed and locked the door in one fluid, practiced motion. Walking to the edge of her small, wooden patio – she had built it herself, along with the rest of the house – she inhaled the fresh morning air, held it, and let out a long, satisfying sigh. A contented smile on her face, she quickly stepped down onto the dirt path leading from her house and was on her way. Her cottage was situated in a small clearing amidst the vast woodlands, so it wasn't long until she was deep within the forest.

Plodding along at an easy pace, she admired the display of nature around her: birds chirped and darted between the trees, bees were hovering around the splendidly colored flowers, and the occasional deer or moose could be seen drinking from one of the many creeks in the area. Summer was her favorite time of the year, especially since this one had been fairly mild. Aylo loved spending her time outside, she had discovered that doing so helped to keep her memories from the fore of her thoughts, at least for a little while. She continued along the path until she came to a part of the woods she recognized and knew well. She turned to her right, leaving the trail, and began to work her way through the thick foliage and brush. The limbs and branches of the bushes pulled and scratched at her clothes, she did not like this part but she knew that this was a small price to pay for where she was going. Up ahead, not much further, she could see a break in the trees – that was her destination. Passing the massive trunks, she stepped out into a small meadow abundant with wild flowers of varying sizes and exotic hues. The warm sun was directly overhead, making the small, cold stream that bisected the clearing sparkle brilliantly. Aylo paused a moment to take in the beautiful scenery, her smile growing by the second – this was her paradise. Before continuing, she stopped to pick off the many twigs and leaves that clung to her from her little adventure through the brush, this time there were even some thorns embedded in her skin – she plucked them out, wincing at the sting. Glad that she was done with that part, she walked to the middle of the meadow, admiring the variety of flora, and took a seat. She decided to just sit for a moment, she had been walking for nearly an hour and her legs needed a quick rest.

'_Could this day be any more perfect_?', she mused to herself as she leaned back on her hands, head back, eyes closed, as she let the sunlight warm her face, _'Probably not'_, she grinned.

Aylo felt at peace, she always did when she came here. Although nature relaxed her, this was the only place where she truly felt at ease. There was something in the air here that made her feel like a new person, completely removed from the harsh reality of her violent past. She felt that here, the flowers and the animals didn't care that her hands were stained with the blood of hundreds of innocents, they did not care about the person she used to be or what she had done; they only cared about who she was now. Here, in the tranquility of the meadow, was her only source of solace. With her eyes still closed, the draenei used her other senses to observe the surroundings. She could feel the soft grass cushioning her, almost like a blanket, and the gentle breeze blowing through her hair. She heard the buzz of insects as they hovered from flower to flower going about their work, the rustling of leaves in the trees, and the bubbling of water running over rocks in the nearby stream. Sighing happily, she opened her eyes and sat back up. Aylo ran her slender fingers through her long hair, stopping abruptly when her hand touched her left horn – her face suddenly downcast. She continued to examine her horn, or what was left of it, moving her hand around the sharp, jagged edge where it was broken. Many years ago, her elegant horns had been the envy of her peers. Although she had liked her horns, Aylo had never thought of them as particularly special; but many people had told her that they were beautiful. Now, her left horn was broken, but she still had about half of it left. It wasn't the aesthetics of the broken horn that upset her though, what it did was serve as a constant reminder of her past. Aylo's face grew more despondent as she remembered how she had broken it.

_The stench of rotting corpses was thick in her nostrils as she made her way through what was left of the village. The sun was setting, the atmosphere tinting the light to make the sky, which was nearly occluded from the smoke of numerous fires, appear a dark, deep red; identical in color to the blood that covered her armor. As she walked she could hear the sounds of other soldiers going through one last sweep, looking for any survivors; now and then she heard the screams of another that they found. The battle had not lasted long, if you could even call it a battle. The place had been nearly defenseless; after all it was only a remote fishing village. Regardless, their orders were to raze the town, and she always followed her orders to the minute detail. Trudging through the layer of bodies that covered the ground, she heard a voice, or rather, someone crying in the house next to her – _

Aylo quickly cut her train of thought, desperate to put that memory back deep into her mind where it belonged, not wishing to relive that moment. She let out her breath, not realizing she had been holding during her sudden flashback. She then became aware that her hands hurt; she looked down at them and saw that they were clenched, her knuckles white, fingers digging into her palms. She opened her hands and extended her fingers, stretching out the pain. She let out a deep, weary sigh. She was upset with herself, she was usually careful about keeping her thoughts in check, and she struggled to remember how her mind had wandered back to those terrible days.

'_Oh yeah_…' she thought sullenly, '… _my stupid horn_.'

Suddenly, she didn't really feel like gathering flowers and herbs anymore, the resurgence of her memories had killed her mood. She drearily thought about the journey back home to her comfortable, albeit lonely, house. She had been living alone for years now. After what had happened in the military, she abandoned everything from her old life. Talyiah was the name her parents had given her, but she had thrown it away, not wanting to be that person anymore. She had set off into wild on her own, wandering aimlessly for months. Eventually she came to this area and decided that she liked it – no people and plenty of solitude. Every now and then though, she did feel a little lonesome, but she repressed those feeling as she reminded herself that it was better for everyone this way. Her smile now completely gone from her face, she stood up and was about to begin her walk back when she sensed a commotion at the edge of the clearing, just beyond the tree line. Reacting out of instinct, she threw her body to the ground and lay there quietly, looking between the stalks of grass in the direction that she suspected the disturbance originated from. She didn't have to wait long before a figure stumbled into view.

It looked like it was attempting to run, but it kept stumbling and falling over itself. She could tell that it was humanoid in shape, and it was obviously injured in some way, explaining the uncoordinated movements. The stranger made it about thirty more yards and fell down, but this time he, or she, didn't get up. Aylo lay where she was, motionless, analyzing the situation. She could not see the person anymore; the plants were too high to see anyone laying down in them. She was curious as to who this person was because she had not seen anyone in nearly two years. While her interest was piqued, she was very cautious. Whoever it was could be dangerous, not that she couldn't handle herself, but she did not take unnecessary risks. She also considered the fact that this person was running from something, or someone, and was injured, so there was a likely chance that the pursuers were not far behind – which meant she had better leave, and fast. She began to crawl on her stomach to the other edge of the meadow but then halted. She stopped, conflicted over whether to leave him, or to go and help. She thought for just a moment, but knew it was pointless. She let out an angry grunt, sprung up, and ran over the where she thought he had fallen.

'I am way too nice for my own good,' she thought angrily to herself, 'If this turns out t – '

She did not have time to complete that thought as the ground rushed up to meet her face. Unable to put her hands out fast enough to catch herself, Aylo turned a little to her left, landing on her shoulder. Immediately the pain shot through her arm, spreading from the point of impact.

She sat up, face contorted in pain, rubbing and rolling her sore shoulder, "At least its better than a broken nose," she groaned aloud.

Remembering the situation, she made to stand but then stopped as she saw what she had tripped over. A blood elf was lying face down in front of her; she could tell it was an elf from the way the ears were shaped.

'_What the hell is a blood elf doing here?!' _She mentally shouted. The fact that one was laying in front her right now shocked her, she had not seen one in years, not since... She shook her head to rid herself of that thought as her mind began to drift back towards that fateful day.

Carefully, she crawled closer towards the elf, who was making no apparent effort to move. When she got close enough, she reached out her hand and grabbed his shoulder. In one swift motion, she pulled him over onto his back and drew her knife to his throat. She halted when she saw that he was actually a she. She had been correct about it being a blood elf, but was surprised that it was a girl, a very young one at that. She looked at the elf's face – she was undoubtedly unconscious. The make sure she wasn't actually dead, she put her fingers to the elf's neck, feeling for a pulse; she found one, faint, but still there. Satisfied, her gaze returned to the strangers face, the first thought came unbidden, but it resounded clearly in Aylo's head…. 'Beautiful.' Her blonde, shoulder length hair framed her delicate features. She had a small, but nevertheless cute, nose and defined cheekbones. She had a rather sharp chin and the softest looking lips Aylo had ever seen. Without knowing why, she reached out and brushed the unconscious elf's cheek with the tips of her fingers, feeling how smooth and silky her skin was. Aylo felt saddened that she could not see the girl's eyes; but she could well imagine that they were gorgeous. Aylo continued to stare at the elf's face, enthralled by its flawlessness.

Well, flawless if you didn't count the many scrapes and scratches, along with the blood and dirt mixture that had caked onto her skin. Noticing the elf's injuries for the first time, Aylo snapped out of her trance. She realized that she had been staring at the girls face for many minutes, and besides herself she felt a slight blush coming on. Dismissing it with a shake of her head, she put her arms under the elf and stood up, surprised – and relieved – at how light she was. She quickly turned and started in the direction of her home, moving as fast as she could while carrying the deadweight in her arms.

'_What have I gotten myself into?_' was all Aylo could think as she trekked back through the forest._  
_

Authors Note: Hey, thanks for reading! Please continue on if you enjoyed. Have you good day.


	2. A Helping Hand

The sun had nearly set by the time Aylo finally reached the front steps of her house. Her legs and upper body were spent, shaking, and exhausted from carrying the elf for what seemed like days— she dragged herself the last few feet to the door. Nearly kicking the door from its hinges in her rush to get in, she gently placed the girl on the floor before collapsing next to her. Sweating and breathing heavily, Aylo lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to regain control of her racing heart. At the same time she was contemplating what to do next.

'_Hmm_' she though quietly, '_Well, I should get her to the bed, to check for any major injuries_.' Decided on her course of action, Aylo lay there a while longer, rolling her eyes and sighing before attempting to stand. She groaned as she got to her feet, her aching body resisting her every movement.

After a quick stretch, she crouched down and gingerly picked up the limp, still unconscious girl; she made her way weakly to the bedroom with the elf in her arms. Aylo reached the foot of the bed and hesitated before setting the elf down. 'This girl is filthy,' she noticed, 'if I put her on my bed she's going to ruin the sheets.' She briefly considered changing the elf into some fresh clothes and wiping some of the grime off of her but decided against it – she did not want to invade this girl's privacy, and besides, taking care of her was more important than a few sheets. As carefully and slowly as she could ,considering her failing muscles, she set the elf down on her bed and stepped back to take a look at her – she was a mess. Not wanting to waste any more time, Aylo began her inspection.

Having taken care of countless wounded soldiers as the unofficial medic in her unit – she was chosen because of her natural talents – her muscle memory began to take over as she went about her work. She started by removing the outermost layer of clothing, the girls dark jacket and her leather leggings – both were saturated with muck and blood. Tossing them to the floor, she noticed that underneath she had on a red, silky undershirt and short black shorts. Although her practiced eyes were scanning for any abnormalities or injuries, she could not help but notice the elf's stunning figure. She had a slim, but toned, build; her stomach had some definition to it, as well as her legs – an athlete no doubt. She continued to gaze at the girl's body, not realizing that her mouth was slightly agape. As Aylo's eyes roamed unbidden to the girl's more private parts, she quickly looked away becoming conscious of what she was doing, embarrassed that she had been checking out the half-naked and unaware girl laid out in front of her.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she berated herself angrily. She had a hard time focusing on the task at hand whenever she looked too long at the elf, so she quickly went back to work before she got distracted again.

Thinking clearly again, she noticed instantly that something was off with the blood elf's right arm. She leaned over and took the arm in her gentle hands and felt around, discovering that the bone in her forearm was indeed broken – it wasn't very swollen yet but it would be soon. Taking a mental note, she continued to look for more wounds. Moving to the girl's torso, she found nothing except for a handful of bruises and scrapes – nothing too serious. She felt each of her ribs to make sure they were all intact and they thankfully were. With that, she shifted her attention to the legs. She saw that underneath her left leg a small pool of blood was forming. Lifting her leg up by the ankle, she could see that there was a deep gouge running across the back of her calf, if she had not been accustomed to such sights it might have made her a little nauseous. It wasn't bleeding too much but it was enough to demand attention.

Not wanting her to lose any more blood, Aylo hurried to the bathroom, digging through the drawers for some bandages and a bottle of sterilizing fluid. She ran back to her bedroom, positioning herself near the elf's feet to get better access to the laceration on her leg. Dampening a cloth with the cleaning solution, she cleaned and dabbed at the cut, thankful that the girl was not awake to feel this. Satisfied that she had cleaned it as best she could, she closed her eyes and placed both hands over the cut. Muttering a prayer in her native language, a faint, white light began to glow from under her hands, escaping through the gaps between her fingers. A few second passed, Aylo slowly opened her eyes, which glowed slightly before returning to their natural state. Inspecting the wound closely, she saw that it appeared much shallower than before and not as wide, and the bleeding had stopped. Though not totally healed, it would hurt less and heal faster now. She expertly wrapped the elf's calf with clean bandages and moved to attend to her broken arm.

Looking at the arm again, she was pleased to note that it wasn't as bad as she had first guessed. Yes it was still broken, but not to the severity to which she first thought. Regardless, before she could set it in a splint, she had to realign the broken halves to make sure the bones repaired themselves correctly. Even though she had tons of experience performing this procedure, it still made her cringe every time. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she placed her hands on the elf's arm, her hands on each side of where it was broken. Whispering a quiet apology to the girl, she used her deceptively strong arms to snap the two pieces back together with a sickening grind and crunch of bone – clearly audible in the silent room.

'_She is definitely going to feel that in morning._' Aylo thought to herself, almost feeling guilty.

She bent down and picked up two wooden sticks from the floor – her old splint sticks that she had used for setting broken bones during her military days. She set them in their proper position and then wrapped them in place with what remained of the bandages. Once again, she placed her hands over the injury and repeated what she had done for the cut on the elf's leg. Complete with her work, she now felt completely drained. Using her ability was tiring enough, even more so when she was out of practice. She wearily pushed herself off the bed and returned to the bathroom, this time to retrieve a washcloth. She dampened it with some warm water and returned, sitting down next to the girl's shoulder. Leaning over, Aylo gently wiped the dirt and blood from the blood elf's delicate, innocent looking face. Despite her ragged and beat up condition, she looked peaceful as she lay there. Aylo brushed the blond hair behind her pointy ears so she could get better access to the rest of her face, amazed at how silky her hair was even in its current state. She finished cleaning the girls face and looked back down at her. As she did, that strange feeling came over her again, something stirred in her stomach and her heart skipped a beat. Caught off guard by her body's reaction, she jumped back off the bed. A look of consternation on her face, she couldn't figure out why she was responding so strongly to just looking upon this girl.

'_It's probably just because it has been… well, years since I last saw another person_.' She reasoned to herself. '_Or maybe… forget it._' She gave up, too tired to sort through her feelings right now. Whatever the case, she did feel excited about the appearance of another person, someone with who she could talk to, or at least she hoped so. She ran through imaginary conversations in her head as she walked into the kitchen, gathering various plants and powders from the many cabinets. She suspected that her guest would wake soon, and she knew that she would be in a great deal of pain, regardless of her efforts to help. Aylo poured some water into a small, silver pot and hung it in the fireplace, where she promptly got the fire going. She then grabbed a small bowl and dumped the ingredients in it, smashing and grinding them together to a fine powder. As soon as the water began to boil, she removed the pot from the fire and poured the water into a large glass. Quickly – the water needed to be hot for it to mix correctly – she put the powder she had created into the water and stirred it for a few minutes. Admiring her work with a satisfied grunt, she set it next to the sink to let it cool. Pulling a tall stool out from under the counter, she plopped down on it – she didn't have any energy left. She leaned with her elbows on the counter, head in her hands, as she went over the day's events in her mind. True, she was intrigued to speak to the blood elf when she woke, but she wasn't sure how they would get along, or how she could deal with this elf – Gods know how many blood elves she had killed, and seeing this one now, before her, was influencing her thoughts and digging up old memories she would rather keep buried. On the other hand, see was anxious to talk to another person again, even if the circumstance of their meeting was not ideal.

Either way, she was dreadfully tired and decided to get some rest – the sky had grown dark long ago. Remembering that her bed was occupied, she shuffled to a nearby closet and pulled out some extra blankets and pillows. Not even bothering to bathe tonight, she slumped onto the floor and laid down, pulling the blanket up to her chin, a ghost of a smile on her face, anticipating what events tomorrow would bring. Soon, Aylo was in a deep sleep.


	3. Awakening

_Talyiah carefully nudged the door open with the tip her blood stained sword – it creaked eerily as it swung open – and made her way into the ruined house, the crying was definitely coming from somewhere within this place. Stepping through the threshold, she glanced around and took in the scene before her. It was rather difficult to see – the grimy windows did not let much of the sun's dying light inside – but despite the darkness, Talyiah could just barely distinguish a hallway; it was towards the back of the room and she knew that it must lead to the rest of the house. Currently, she stood in what she assumed was the main room of the house. It was obvious that some of the other soldiers had already been here: most of the furniture was flipped over and debris was strewn all over the room, not to mention the arterial sprays of blood on the walls – clear evidence of a fight. Talyiah decided to go to the hallway that she spotted earlier, and moved warily in that direction, sword at the ready, the clanking of her plate armor and the sound of muffled crying the only noise in the otherwise silent house. The draenei paused when she reached the entrance to the hallway – she was staring into an abyss. Her keen eyesight could not penetrate more than a foot in front of her, the darkness before her was so thick that she felt as though she could reach out and touch it. There were no windows in the hallway, and what little light came from the already dim main room barely reached to where she stood. Switching her sword to her right arm, Talyiah raised her left hand – palm facing the ceiling—and murmured an inaudible prayer. A white, glowing orb suddenly materialized above the center of her palm, casting its pale, faint light onto the blood stained walls. Now that she had some degree of visibility, Talyiah peered down the hallway and inhaled sharply as she looked upon the massacre in front of her. The orb's light revealed dozens of bodies scattered everywhere, the floor slick with blood and gore. Talyiah was at a loss as to how this many people had met their end in this cramped passage; the best explanation that she could come up with was that there was a meeting or celebration going on here when the assault began, and they were caught unaware and defenseless. Having nowhere to flee, they had been trapped and slaughtered mercilessly in the hallway. Somewhat disturbed at the sight, Talyiah steeled her nerves and proceed forward into the darkness, determined to find what she had come for._

_She stepped around the mutilated bodies at her feet, many of them had been dismembered and gutted – the detached limbs and body parts of the victims were jumbled together, forming bloody piles of indistinguishable meat. Talyiah's armored hooves sloshed through blood an inch deep as she walked, the wooden floors could not hope to absorb the sheer volume of red liquid. As she slowly made her way down the hallway, the sightless eyes of the dead stared at her in terror, the fear in their final moments immortalized on their faces as they met their gruesome deaths. Suppressing the feeling of dread rising in her, Talyiah delved deeper into the house, the dark now completely surrounding her save for the small bubble of light that the orb provided. The shadows created by the twisted bodies seemed to flicker and come to life; they crowded around her, and Talyiah swore they came closer every time she looked away – just waiting for their chance to grab her. The crying had now lowered to a pitiful whimper, but Talyiah could tell that she was very near to where it was coming from. Ahead and to the right, she saw light peeking out from under one of the doors and decided that must be the room she was looking for. Stepping over another heap of bodies, she now stood in front of the door. Removing her helm, she placed her ear to the door and listened intently – the crying now more clear than ever. Not knowing what would be waiting for her on the other side, Talyiah focused her senses like she always did before a fight, readying herself to kill whoever it was inside; her orders were clear, no survivors – she put her helmet back on. Talyiah grabbed the brass door knob with her mailed hand, turned it as slowly and quietly as possible, and charged into the room._

Aylo bolted upright from her makeshift bed, gasping as she tried to catch her breath, heart pounding painfully in her chest. She was drenched in sweat, her robes thoroughly soaked, and her body shaking violently, uncontrollably. She closed her eyes tightly, pushing the grisly images from her mind and trying to steady her shattered nerves. It had been a long time since she last had nightmares of that day, she hoped that she had gotten past them, but this one had come back as vivid and real as ever, as if she was actually there, living it all over again. Aylo reached up and felt her horn, half hoping to find it intact, but finding that it was still as broken as the day that it happened, the day they had attacked that village. She shuddered as she recalled her dream; sure, she did not like blood elves, she may have even hated them back then, but seeing them slaughtered like common animals never ceased to bother her; she had been trained to fight other soldiers in honorable combat, not murder civilians. At the outbreak of the war, she had seen plenty of action on the front lines, but soon their unit was tasked with cleaning up the mess as the conflict drew to a close. At first she held no quarrel with burning the occasional town or village, but after months of leveling settlement after settlement for no other reason than exterminating the populace, she began to question the morality and validity of her orders – but being the dutiful soldier that she was trained to be, she carried them out to the best of her ability regardless of her reservations. Aylo sat hunched over on the floor, legs pulled to her chest, thinking about how stupid she had been to follow her orders so blindly.

After a few minutes of silent reflection, Aylo slowly stood up, stretching out her stiff muscles; she had not rested that long and was still incredibly tired, but she knew she would not be able to go back to sleep after a dream like that. Resigning herself to that thought, Aylo walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass cup and filled it with cool water, taking a small sip as she gazed out the window that was above the sink; the eastern sky was beginning to lighten as the sun was just a few minutes from breaking the horizon. Deciding to check up on her guest to make sure she was alright, Aylo sneaked as quietly as she could to her bedroom, the wood floors creaking slightly despite her best efforts, and peeked inside to see the blood elf still lying there, peaceful as ever. This time however, she could hear the sound of soft snoring coming from the bed and allowed herself a small smile.

_'At least she is actually asleep now_,' Aylo thought as relief flooded her, '_and not knocked out_.'

Satisfied that the girl was recovering, Aylo decided to clean herself up since she had skipped out on doing so yesterday. She grabbed a change of clothes, a towel, some soap, and went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

After drying herself thoroughly, she threw the dirty towel into a basket in the corner and quickly dressed herself. Aylo felt much better; it was amazing what a nice, long bath could do to ease a person's mind and spirit, and gods know she had desperately needed it. Feeling refreshed, she returned to the kitchen to cook some breakfast – she was starving. With all the action going on yesterday she had forgotten to eat dinner. Aylo's heart dropped as she realized that she had not gathered any of the ingredients that she had intended to yesterday either.

Sighing lightly, "Oh well, I'll just have to make due."

With that, she began to get her kitchen ready. It was a rather small kitchen, but it had everything that she needed – after all, she didn't really need much since she just had to cook and provide for herself. Lighting the fire once again, she began to heat up another pot of water; she had just enough grinds to make a few more cups of coffee. Aylo placed a cast iron grill over the fire and put a skillet on top; she was in the mood for fried eggs this morning. She took an egg in each hand and cracked them together, pouring the contents into the pan where they instantly began to sizzle; soon the smell of frying eggs filled the small room. The growling in her stomach growing louder by the second, Aylo urged the eggs to cook faster even though she knew it wouldn't hasten the process. She waited a minute longer until she couldn't take it anymore; she eagerly pulled the skillet from the fire and moved the eggs to the plate that she had waiting on the counter. She greedily shoveled the food into her mouth, nearly choking in her haste to get some food into her stomach. Aylo moaned in relief as she felt the hunger pains recede, closing her eyes and savoring the rest of her breakfast with every slow, deliberate bite. They tasted alright, but it would have been so much better if she had some spices to put on them – she would have to return to the meadow soon and stock up. She stopped suddenly and listened carefully, she could hear the sound of rustling sheets coming from the bedroom – maybe this time she would have someone to keep her company when she went back. She smiled to herself at the thought, grabbed the drink she had mixed last night, and with a look of cautious optimism, walked anxiously to her bedroom.


	4. Sylnarri

Sylnarri didn't have the vaguest idea where she was, or how she had ended up here; the one thing she did know, however, was that she was in bad shape – she could not feel her body. She tried to move around and immediately wished she hadn't – the intensity of the resulting pain was nearly enough to make her blackout. Wincing in agony, she decided that it was best to lie still for the time being. Sylnarri inspected her body, trying as best as she could not to move her head as she did so. She could see that her right arm was in a nicely wrapped cast, so she guessed that it was broken – that would certainly explain why it was hurt so much. Straining her eyes, she could see that her leg was bandaged as well, but other than that, she seemed okay. Satisfied that nothing was life threatening, she took a look around. Using her eyes to scan the area – she did not want to risk moving her neck – Sylnarri could see that she was in someone's bedroom. The room was fairly standard in size and rather well furnished: there was a large, dark wood dresser in the corner, and next to that was an ornately carved desk – a depiction of mounted knights combatting strange creatures carved along the edges – with stacks of papers and a few pens on top. There was a large window to her left that was framed with red curtains; she noticed that they matched the finely stitched carpet that covered most of the floor; overall, the room felt pretty cozy. Looking through the window, she could see a tree line not too far off, so she guessed that the house was in some sort of clearing in a forest somewhere. Judging from the length of the shadows and the intensity of the light, Sylnarri could tell that it was about mid-morning – her older sister had taught that trick.

_'If only she were here now_,' she thought fondly, _'she would… wait… where exactly IS here, and how the hell did I get here?!_'

Sylnarri tried to remember exactly how she had gotten here, but her mind felt hazy and the pain certainly wasn't helping her concentration. The last thing she remembered was running through that endless forest – what she was doing there in the first place she couldn't remember either – being chased by…

_'Damn it, how messed up was I to not be able to remember anything?!'_ She thought angrily as her temper started to rise. She was clenching her jaw in frustration at her apparent loss of memory when she suddenly caught the scent of cooked eggs wafting in from behind the door. She had almost forgot that she wasn't alone, and Sylnarri felt a twinge of fear at the fact that she was defenseless and at the mercy of whomever it was that brought her here. True, this person had been kind enough to look after her while she was unconscious and care for her injuries, but there was no telling what the motivation behind the apparent kindness was, maybe whoever it was just wanted her to be alive and well when they killed her – it wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to take her life.

'_That's it!_' She thought, excited at the sudden realization, _'I was being chased by humans and they were trying to kill me!'_ The fog suddenly lifted from her mind, Sylnarri could clearly recall what had happened and how she had ended up here – her eyes narrowed in anger at the memory.

_She was just passing through the city when she decided that she needed a break from her long day of traveling. Too tired to be picky, she stopped at the first inn she came across and went inside. Since the end of the war and the peace treaty, all of the races of Azeroth had been living together in precarious co-existence. As such, the border towns and cities were a melting pot of all the various people from both Horde and Alliance. Although the war was officially over, the hatred and racism was as strong as ever, and there was mutual segregation in many places within the cities. Not aware that she had walked into a well-known "human" inn – whose patrons were notorious elf haters – Sylnarri casually took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. All activity stopped, and everyone stared at this blood elf that had dared to intrude on their territory. It took Sylnarri a moment to realize her huge mistake and when she did, she promptly made her way to the exit, eyes to the floor, as quickly as she could – the last thing she wanted was to start a confrontation. She had nearly reached the door when a gigantic man stepped in her way, his barrel of a chest blocking her exit. She nervously looked at him – which required her to nearly tilt her head all the way back – and saw that he was clearly drunk._

"_Wher d'ya think yo're goin, lil'elf?" He slurred out stupidly – his breath was rancid, and being mixed with alcohol as well, made her nose wrinkle at the stench. _

"_I was just on my way out," she replied as pleasantly as she could, and put as much confidence as she could muster into her words, "Now if you would kindly excuse me, I would like to leave." She started maneuvering around him to the door, but he side-stepped back into her path, making her stop once again._

"_Sho let me git thiss shtraight," he spat out, spraying her with spittle in the process, "Ya think ya can jus' waltz in here an' walk out, jus' like that?!" He took another swig out of his pint and wiped the thick foam from his overgrown and unkempt beard, his tone now carrying a hint of anger._

_Sylnarri didn't exactly know how to answer that question so she just stammered out "Please, I… I don't want any trouble, just let me go and I'll be on my way." Fear started creeping into her voice; the situation was definitely starting to feel hostile._

_He suddenly turned violently angry, throwing his mug across the room where it shattered against the wall. "Well ya got truble when ya walked in!" He rushed towards her. Sylnarri was surprised that he moved so fast, she hadn't expected that a drunken person could move that quickly without falling over and it frightened her. Nevertheless, he was still large and cumbersome, and Sylnarri was much faster than him. She nimbly dodged to the left, fear augmenting her already keen reflexes. The man careened past her, smashing into the group of humans that had been gathering behind her. Seeing that the way to the door was now open, Sylnarri sprinted as fast her legs would allow out of the inn, the angry curses and shouts of the angry mob not far behind. She leaped over the flight of stone steps that led up to the inn, landing on the cobblestone street below. Without glancing back, she sprung to her feet and continued to run, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she could hear the group chasing after her. She had never been to this city before and had no clue where she was going but she didn't care as long as it was away from those humans. She rounded a street corner and could hear the yells of the men growing fainter and fainter; soon the only sound in the night air was the pounding of her boots on the stones as she ran down the empty street. Sylnarri allowed herself a small sigh of relief – she was going to be okay._

_She took another sharp turn around a building and suddenly found herself face-up and sprawled out on the hard street, her head spinning as she tried to figure what the hell happened. She would never get the chance; before she could recover, strong hands grabbed her by the front her of her shirt and yanked her back to her feet. She stood there dazed, trying to refocus her vision so she could see her who her assailant was when she was hit in the face again, the force sending her reeling backwards. She landed hard on her hands and knees – Sylnarri fought desperately against the sensation of an inevitable blackout as her head and eyesight continued to spin. Spitting out the blood that had begun collecting in her mouth, Sylnarri saw her attacker move to her right side and raise an object over his head, about to strike. Sylnarri did not have enough time to evade the blow, so she threw up her arm to protect her head as it came down on her; she felt the bone in her arm give way from the force of the impact. She cried out in agony from the incredible amount of pain, but the jolt to her nervous system also served to snap her mind back into focus. She saw that her assailant was readying for another attack, but this time she rolled out the way, the strike slamming into the stony street with a loud crack. Fighting no longer an option because of the beating she had just taken – her arm was totally useless – her only hope was to outrun her attacker. She rolled once more, dodging another hit, got to her feet, and took off at a dead sprint – the fear of death giving her speed she didn't know she had possessed._

_Sylnarri risked a quick look behind her and found to her dismay that the pursuer was not far behind, maybe twenty feet at the most. She redoubled her efforts, pushing her body faster and faster, her muscles straining under the immense stress, in her attempt to escape this person who seemed intent on killing her. She glanced behind her again and saw that she was beginning to pull ahead of her chaser. Just as she began to hope that was going to get away, Sylnarri heard the sound of metal slicing through air, and it was coming towards her. It caught her mid stride – a knife – on her left calf, cutting through the muscle with terrifying ease. Sylnarri screamed as she felt the blade dig into her flesh, stumbling as she landed on her injured leg. Despite the practical destruction of her left calf, she continued to run as best as she could – to stop meant certain death. But in spite of her best efforts, her body was failing on her. As she pushed on, her left leg was refusing to obey her and she was beginning to slow down no matter how hard she fought. Looking back again, her attacker was starting to close the gap between them. Tears began to roll down her face as she realized that she wasn't going to make it, he was going to catch her and that would be the end of it – she was going to die right here on this street and her family would never know what happened to her. She would never see her sister again, or her parents, she wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye to them._

_She was about to give up when she realized that she had been running for some time now and her pursuer had yet to reach her. She looked around and saw that she was in the middle of a field – she had run past the city's main gate without noticing. Sylnarri looked back to the city and saw the man standing at the front gate, motionless, staring at her. The distance was too great for her to be able to see who it was but she didn't care; she turned back around and kept going, running farther and farther away from that damn city. Even though she had escaped, she couldn't stop crying, she had never been so afraid for her life. Fearing that the man might change his mind and come after her, she kept on running and soon found herself lost in a forest. Soon, Sylnarri was delirious from blood loss and exhaustion, stumbling and tripping as she continued to flee from her non-existent pursuers. She wandered aimlessly through the woods for the rest of the night and well into the morning, ragged and fading fast. Eventually, she shambled into a clearing and made it a few more steps before falling down again; she made no effort to move, too defeated to even attempt to get back up – accepting her unkind fate._

'_So this is how I die?' she thought sadly, a single tear rolling down her cheek and onto the dirt as she sniffled, 'Alone and in the middle of nowhere?' With that final thought, she closed her eyes and felt her consciousness fade away._

Sylnarri felt her anger flare as she lie there on the bed. She had always tried to be nice and considerate to everyone, regardless of race, and here these people had tried to kill her and nearly succeeded! Is this how being tolerant and kind paid off? She had been attacked for no other reason than being a blood elf; they had judged her based on her people's history just like everyone else. Sylnarri's temper died at that final thought and was replaced with a deep sorrow. Why couldn't people just see her for who she was? She never tried to hurt anyone yet she was met with violence nearly everywhere she went.

_'That's the last time I ever try to be friendly with those Alliance pigs_.' She thought to herself, although she knew it was an empty statement; she was too forgiving to ever hold a grudge like that. '_And besides_,' she realized sullenly,_ 'doing that would only make me a hypocrite.'_

Caught up in her thoughts, Sylnarri did not hear the footsteps outside of her room, getting louder as they approached the door.


	5. First Impressions

Aylo stopped in front of the door, her heart suddenly racing at the prospect of finally meeting the blood elf; why was she getting so nervous about this? Aylo had never experienced any trouble speaking to or meeting new people, she had never been the shy type, so her hesitation to open the door puzzled her.

_'But then again_...' she thought '..._ this elf is the only person that has made me feel so strange, and that was just from looking at her, now I'm actually going to meet her face to face!_' Considering how she had reacted before around the elf, she was slightly worried what effect this girl would have on her now that she was awake. She took a deep breath to steady her shaking hands as she reached out for the door knob – Gods she was nervous! She stopped again.

'_I'm just overthinking it._' she reassured herself, repeating the phrase in her head over and over.

"I just need to go in and say hello.'" She said resolutely, trying to gather her courage. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pushed the door open and walked inside… well, the blood elf was definitely awake.

The first thing she noticed was the elf's startled eyes upon her, those… beautiful, green eyes; her earlier prediction about them being gorgeous had been correct. Aylo struggled to look away as she felt her mind already going blank, becoming lost in those deep, vivid, emerald eyes. Through sheer willpower, Aylo managed to tear her gaze away – she could have looked into them for hours. Initially, the blood elf's face had been a mixture of surprise and fear when she had walked in, but now Aylo could see that there was confusion written there too; no doubt because she had just walked in and stared, open-mouthed, at her for a few long, awkward seconds.

_'So much for being able to control myself, she probably thinks I'm a creep now._' She reprimanded herself. Recovering her composure, Aylo cleared her throat to speak.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake and well, I was beginning to worry about you." She said cheerfully as she walked to the side of the bed.

No reply, just staring.

"Oh…" she continued, put-off by her silence and slightly embarrassed, "…I forget my manners, you can call me Aylo" She smiled as she waited for the elf to give her name.

The elf stared blankly at her.

_Of course, she probably can't speak draenei._

"Do you speak Common?" Aylo asked, switching languages.

Again, no reply; the elf just gazed unflinchingly at her with fright and suspicion; peering at her with those green… intense, fathomless… perfect eyes.

Aylo mentally slapped herself as she caught herself staring again. If the elf had been slightly confused earlier, she was now completely lost by how Aylo was behaving. She felt the beginnings of a blush come to her face, embarrassed that she was acting so awkward in front of the elf. When had her social skills become so bad?

_'I'm making a great first impression._' She said sarcastically to herself. Remembering the drink she held in her hand, she offered it to the blood elf.

"Here, you must be hurting; this should help to dull the ache a little." She extended the cup to the elf, but she instantly recoiled away from her, inhaling sharply and wincing in pain as she did so, forgetting that her body did not agree with moving just yet. Saddened to see her in agony, Aylo desperately wanted to help.

"Don't worry…" she soothed "… it's not poison. See?" Aylo raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip and swallowed it down, trying her best not to cringe at the taste; unfortunately, it pretty much felt like poison on the way down.

"There, I drank a little myself; it's not going to kill you. Although, I must admit that it does not go down so easily." She smiled sweetly as she offered it to her again. The elf's eyes flitted between the cup and Aylo, looking at both with equal amounts of distrust.

Sighing, Aylo dropped her smile, her tone became serious. "Look, I'm just trying to help; I don't like seeing you suffer. Now please, just take it, I promise you will feel much better if you do." She added a small smile at the end. The blood elf's eyes softened a little at her words. She seemed to be thinking as her gaze continued to shift between Aylo and the cup, trying to detect any deception. The elf let out a faint sigh, and nodded her head slightly.

Taking the nod as a confirmation, Aylo sat down carefully on the edge of the bed. She would have to help the elf take the medicine since she couldn't move her arms. The elf's intense gaze never left her as Aylo leaned over and carefully slid her hand underneath the girl's head – a thrill rushing through Aylo's body at the contact.

"You ready?"

A moment of hesitation – those emerald eyes still analyzing her – then another slight nod.

Aylo lifted up the girls head as gently as she could, but the elf's eyes narrowed in pain and she let out a small whimper at the movement. Feeling a little guilty for causing her discomfort, Aylo moved the cup to her lips and tilted it back slowly, letting her drink at her own pace. The cup now empty, Aylo stood back up, laughing at the disgusted look on the elf's face as the after-taste hit her; the elf glared at her, clearly not sharing in her humor.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She grinned. "Well, I'll let you get some rest now, give it a few minutes to kick in. If you need anything, I'll just be in the next room." With that, Aylo briskly turned and crossed the room to the door; she felt the elf's intense gaze on her as she did so.

Aylo stepped outside the door and quietly closed it behind her, leaned against it and let out a sigh, the stress leaving her. After a few seconds, she pushed herself off the door and walked to the kitchen, reflecting on what had just happened.

'_I made such a fool of myself_!' she yelled in her mind. _'She probably thought I was going to cook and eat her by the way I was staring; no wonder she didn't say anything, she was probably scared of me.'_ She sulked, wishing their brief first encounter had turned out better and then caught herself; why was she getting so worked up about what this elf, whose name she didn't even know, thought of her? Not quite knowing how to answer that question, she left it alone for the time being and began to clean up the kitchen; she still had to clean the dishes from her breakfast.

* * *

_The next day_

"You ready for dinner?" Aylo chimed cheerfully as she walked into the bedroom, carrying a tray with a variety of dishes that she had just cooked. The elf's green eyes shot over to her, a small smile flashed across her face but was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Aylo's heart fluttered a little in her chest, noticing the elf smile at her, but then realized disappointedly that she was probably just happy to see the food and not her. Aylo reached the bed and placed the tray over the elf. So far, she had been helping the elf eat – she was still too weak to move around much, but she was getting better.

"So, what would you like first?" She asked. Aylo smiled, she almost felt like a mother taking care of a small child, and the thought entertained her. The elf's eyes widened as she looked at the array of food before her – licking her lips – trying to decide which looked best; it was a difficult decision because they all looked delicious. Eventually she chose the one closest to her, it was a stew of some kind, and nodded her head in its direction to indicate that was the one she wanted. The elf had yet to speak to her, but Aylo didn't really mind anymore; she thought it was kinda cute how she used her little nose to point at the food – it was rather endearing.

"Good choice!" Aylo exclaimed as she picked up the bowl and dipped a spoon into the steaming stew. She let it cool a little before feeding it to her; the elf closed her eyes and let out a groan of pleasure as she appreciated Aylo's fantastic cooking.

"I take that you like it?" Aylo asked, smiling a little.

The elf opened her eyes, looking at her and nodding ever so slightly, returning Aylo's smile with her own.

"I'm glad." Aylo said, pleased at her reaction. When Aylo had first tried to give her food, the elf would have none of it. Whether she had too much pride or did not trust her, she stubbornly refused to let Aylo feed her like a baby despite Aylo's insistent efforts. Eventually, hunger won out and she begrudgingly allowed Aylo to feed her. Since then, the elf had warmed up to her and now eagerly waited for when Aylo would come in with the next meal, and the draenei looked forward to it too – taking care of the elf made her feel needed, and that made her feel good.

After a few minutes the bowl was empty; Aylo set it back down onto the wood tray.

"Would you like anything else?" She asked, gesturing to the rest of the food, gazing into the elf's deep eyes. The elf looked at the food for a moment, then looked back up to her and shook her head. She did, however, nod to the glass of water off to the side and Aylo grabbed it, holding the cup to her lips for her – she greedily drank the whole glass in a matter of seconds.

'_Wow, she must have been really thirsty._' Aylo thought to herself. "Is that all?" She asked aloud.

The elf glanced up to from the bed, those piercing eyes locking onto hers– Aylo's breath caught in her lungs – and with a look of sincere gratification nodded once again; the corners of her mouth turned up in a cautious smile as she did.

Aylo's heart stopped again at the smile, when it decided to start beating again she returned the friendly gesture with a shy smile of her own, feeling herself start to blush. She turned away before the elf could see her face going red; she got off the bed, picked the tray up, and made for the door.

"I'll be back to check in on you before I go to bed, okay?" She said over her shoulder as she was almost out the door.

"…Aylo?..." a faint voice came from the bed.

She was trying to talk. For the third time that night, Aylo's heart decided to stop working. She turned around slowly.

"Y-yes?" she barely choked out, clearing her throat afterwards to make it appear that was what had caused her to stutter. Why did her body work against her whenever it came to being around this girl?

"…thanks for… taking care of me, I… appreciate it…" she managed to finally say, sounding a little self-conscious. Even though she was straining to speak at all, her voice was melodic and sweet and Aylo liked how it sounded to her ears.

_So she can speak common after all._

If Aylo wasn't already blushing earlier, she certainly was now. She felt her face grow hot at the unexpected display of gratitude.

'_Stupid body!'_ she chastised herself, '_Act normal!_'

Aylo looked over to elf and said, "Of course, it's my pleasure." Or that's what she would have replied if she could have, she moved her mouth but no words came out; so she simply nodded and smiled, quickly looking down, attempting to hide her face with her hair.

"My… name is Sylnarri." She said with an unsure smile. She sounded a little stronger now, more confident. "Sylnarri Or'Shalis."

Sylnarri… what a beautiful name, it fit her perfectly. But why did that last name sound familiar?

"Well then… Sylnarri…" she stumbled over the name, "I'll be back, uh, sometime, ah… later." She had no idea how she managed to get those words out but she was thankful that she did, no matter how awkward they sounded. She flashed Sylnarri a small smile – the elf was looking at her, a perplexed look on her face as she tried to understand Aylo's strange behavior – and exited the room quickly; trying to preserve what little dignity she had left.

'_Oh my, I'm a mess, aren't I?_' Aylo sighed to herself when she had reached the safety of her kitchen, far away from Sylnarri. She pulled out the stool from beneath the counter and sat on it. Aylo's body slowly returned to its natural state as she concentrated on her breathing; inhaling slowly, exhaling slowly. Finally reining in her thoughts, she was angry with herself.

_'Why can't I control myself around this el – … Sylnarri? I don't understand!'_ She was an adult for crying out loud, and here she was acting like a little girl whenever she came into contact with Sylnarri. Even more than that, she was a trained killer, damnit! She had faced down countless foes and they had died by her hand, and she had felt nothing when taking their lives; she had been a cold-blooded, stone-faced killer! She had faced overwhelming odds and had never hesitated, rising to the challenge with zeal. She always kept a cool head, even in the heat of a pitched battle. But just one look from Sylnarri was enough to make her lose all any semblance of reasoning and make her want to hide her face, her mind becoming lost in those beautiful, lovely eyes. Her frown was replaced with a smile as Aylo remembered exactly how they looked, how could she possibly forget? They shone so brightly and brilliantly, and the way they seemed to sparkle when she smiled was… what the hell?! There, it happened again! She had started daydreaming about that elf again!

Aylo shook her head violently to focus her thoughts. Having gotten Sylnarri and her beautiful eyes out of her mind, she noticed that she was hungry – so she decided to eat the rest of the food that she had left untouched. As Aylo sat there absent mindedly eating her dinner, she tried to think of what she needed to do tomorrow, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the elf in her bedroom no matter how hard she resisted. Knowing she wouldn't win, she gave in and let herself think once again about Sylnarri. Reflecting on their encounter tonight, she reasoned that it wasn't all that bad – She had finally spoken to her and now she knew her name. Aylo felt touched that Sylnarri had made such an effort to thank her, even though doing so was obviously difficult and painful for her; hopefully she was well enough tomorrow to have a little conversation.

Not even noticing that she had eaten all the food already, Aylo continued to sit there long after, thinking about Sylnarri. The sun had gone down by the time Aylo realized she how much time had passed. Snapping out her daydream with a start, she walked lazily over to the sink and washed the used dishes. After putting them away, she sauntered to the bathroom to take a quick bath. Throwing a bathrobe on after she had cleaned herself, she was about to call it a night when stopped. She had forgotten to check on Sylnarri.

Aylo walked as silently as she could to her bedroom, her hooves thudding on the floor regardless of her efforts making echoes in the quiet house. She gently pushed against the door and opened it an inch, just enough for her to peek in. She could hear Sylnarri snoring softly; she was already asleep. Aylo felt a warm sensation rising in her chest as she watched her sleep; she gently pulled the door shut. Smiling without really knowing why, Aylo walked back to her improvised bed, laid her head down on the goose feather pillow and closed her eyes, sleep soon taking her away.


	6. The Girl (Aylo's Breaking)

_Talyiah grabbed the brass door knob with her mailed hand, turned it as slowly and quietly as possible, and charged into the room. Inside, the room was lit by a single candle that stood on a nightstand next to the bed; the orange flame flickered, creating constantly shifting shadows with its weak glow. The place was certainly a mess. Just like in the hallway, there was blood splattered everywhere, and there were sheets, pillows, and papers thrown all over the room. The first thing Talyiah noticed, however, was the scene at her feet. On the floor in front of her was a blood elf male, and to his left was a female – both were dead. They had been stabbed multiple times in the stomach and chest, and the male's throat was slit. But that was not what had caught Talyiah's attention; she was used to seeing death firsthand. Staring back up at her, however, was a little blood elf girl; her eyes wide with fear and tears streaming down her dirty face. She was lying down next to the female – Talyiah guessed it was her mother, and the male her father – her tiny arms wrapped around the woman's neck, clinging to her dead mom. Her blond hair was matted with blood. She had been so surprised by Talyiah's appearance that she had stopped wailing, but the tears still flowed freely down her grimy face as she looked up at Talyiah; the draenei felt her heart break a little as she stared through the slits of her helmet back into the girl's tearful, frightened eyes. Why did these things have to happen? There was already enough suffering in this world, what did this girl do to deserve such a cruel fate? Regardless, Talyiah knew what had to be done; her orders were clear and left no room for compromise – damn this war. _

_Killing any emotion she felt, Talyiah advanced towards the girl, sword raised. The little blood elf, realizing what was about to happen, sprang up and ran to the closet at the far side of the room. _

"_Noooo," The girl screamed as she fled from Talyiah, "Noo!" She reached the closet and slammed the door behind her; she started crying again, much louder than before. Aylo calmly stalked over to the closet and threw the door open, easily overcoming what little strength the girl had as she tried to hold is closed to keep Talyiah out. The girl yelped in fear as the door flew open. There was nothing now between her and Talyiah. The little blood elf backed up as far as she could into the closet, trying to get as far away as possible, her tearful eyes never leaving Talyiah – soon she was backed into a corner. With nowhere else the run, she slumped down hopelessly to the floor and began crying even more miserably than before, pleading with Talyiah not to kill her. _

"_Please… don't… please." She managed to choke out in Thalassian between sobs, her voice high pitched and cracking with each syllable. She was trembling with fear at this point, her lower lip quivering as she looked at Talyiah with big, terrified eyes. _

_Talyiah pulled her bloodied sword back for a thrust, aiming it at the girl's chest, which was heaving up and down from her panicked breathing. The girl's cries became even more wretched as she knew she was mere seconds from death – Talyiah bit her lip, doubt creeping into her mind. Shaking it off, Talyiah tensed her muscles in preparation for the killing blow, envisioning it; she was going to make it as quick as possible, she didn't want the girl to suffer more than was necessary. Talyiah leaped forward – and faltered mid-strike._

'_Is this right?' The question shot through her mind, making her hesitate. Talyiah was suddenly conflicted. She always carried out her orders to the letter, her confidence and faith in the decisions of her superiors was absolute – she knew that whatever they told her to do was the right thing. She made to finish her strike, but stopped again._

'_But then why does this feel so wrong?' Talyiah continued to struggle with herself. She was torn between her obligation to fulfill her duty and the morality of killing this defenseless, innocent girl. It didn't make any sense. What good would it do killing her? What possible effect would it have on the war if she took this girls life? Talyiah frowned and bit her lip as she tried to sort out the conflicting thoughts inside her. She sighed, dropping her sword to her side, its tip resting on the floor._

_It wasn't right._

_She couldn't do it, she just couldn't do it. Talyiah couldn't bring herself to kill – no, murder – this little girl at her feet, who was still shaking like a leaf. The girl had turned away and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to witness her own death. When a few seconds had passed and she was still alive, she looked around in confusion, her large eyes still full of tears. Talyiah knelt down to one knee and took of her helmet; she was now eye level with the terrified girl. They stared at each for a long minute, the two of them contrasting sharply; the girl, shaking and terrified, in her little yellow dress and tiny, white, silk slippers; and Talyiah, clad in heavy plate armor, her skin shining with sweat, her white hair matted down from the helmet – both were drenched in blood. Talyiah let out a deep sigh, weary and full of resignation._

"_I'm not going to hurt you," She said, her voice tender, tinged with sadness, "You're safe now." Talyiah had no idea if the girl could understand what she was saying, but she appeared to get the meaning as she seemed to calm down a little at Talyiah's softly spoken words, her crying replaced with pitiful sniffles. Trying to think of way to distract the girl from the horror of the situation, Talyiah remembered that she had a little bit of left-over food in her satchel. Talyiah reached into the bag at her side and pulled out a tiny scrap of dried meat; it wasn't much and she wished there was more to give, but it was all she had. Turning back to the girl, who was still staring fearfully at her, she stretched her arm out towards her, offering the morsel. The little girl looked at it suspiciously, not sure what to think._

"_Go on, take it, it's good." Talyiah urged while putting on the best smile she could manage. The girl slowly reached out, and then quickly snatched the piece of meat from Talyiah's hand. She sniffed it, decided it was up to her standards, and took a timid bite. Her face brightened noticeably at the taste, and she quickly consumed the rest of it; Talyiah couldn't help but smile genuinely as she watched the girl devour the snack. Finished eating, the girl looked back at her, and Talyiah could see in her eyes that she was much better now – the elf even smiled warily at her. Talyiah felt her heart warm, knowing that she had helped this poor girl in some small way; she had done the right thing by disobeying her orders. What happened next, Talyiah did not expect; the girl ran over to her and threw her arms around Talyiah's neck, hugging her. Talyiah didn't know what to do as the girl clung tightly to her, her eyes wide with surprise at the girl's sudden trust in her. After her initial shock wore off, Talyiah slowing wrapped her arms around the girl, careful not to crush her tiny frame, returning her embrace – and for the second time in a row, something else completely unexpected happened. Talyiah began to cry. _

'_What am I doing?' she thought to herself, tears falling down her face. Soldiers were supposed to be strong, crying was a sign of weakness, and here she was weeping like a baby in the arms of a little girl. She didn't even know why she was crying, but she was. Was she mourning for this little girl and the tragedy that was her life? Both her parents were now dead and she was all alone this cruel world. Or was she was crying because she had come so close to killing this innocent, loving creature that she cradled in her arms and who now considered her friend just moments after she had attempted to end her life? Or maybe she cried for herself and all the people she had killed in cold-blood, as if her tears could wash away the oceans of blood on her hands. Either way, Talyiah didn't try to stop herself and let her tears fall freely; the little girl just hugged her, as if she knew that was exactly what Talyiah needed. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually Talyiah cried herself out and dried her eyes. She stood up with the girl still hanging onto her neck, but Talyiah didn't mind carrying her – she walked out of the room and into the darkened hallway._

"_Don't look" she whispered softly to the girl, who promptly squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face, nuzzling against Talyiah's neck – she didn't want to elf to see the gruesome scene around them. Talyiah quickly made her way back down the hallway, holding on tightly to the little blood elf. She was soon in the main room. Talyiah stopped, thinking._

'_What am I going to do with you?' She asked herself, suddenly worried, looking at the child nestled in her arms. Their orders had been to eliminate everyone and burn the town, and she was clearing going against those orders right now by not having killed this little girl. _

'_Surely they can make just one exception, this one time.' She tried to tell herself, but knew that it was a false hope; they never compromised when it came to completing the mission. Talyiah thought hard on what to do, on what her next course of action should be._

_'To hell with the orders,' she thought, suddenly angrily. 'I'm done with this damn war.' Meeting this girl has changed something in her, and Talyiah now realized how blind she had been to every atrocious act that she had committed in this terrible war. She had killed indiscriminately for no other reason than because she was simply told to. She felt awake now, as if her eyes were finally open, and she could see this conflict for what it really was; it was nothing more than a war of racial hatred and she would have no more to do with it, she had done enough damage. Resolute in her decision, Talyiah decided she would leave, disappear with this girl and start a new life, away from all this blood and death. Maybe, just maybe, if she could give this girl a chance at life, it would make up for some of the horrible things she had done. She smiled at the notion and looked back down at the girl, who looked up at her with her own little smile – this was definitely the right thing to do. With a look of determination, Talyiah began walking to the edge of the town, but a shout from behind made her stop._

"_Hey, Talyiah, where ya' going?!" Running up to her was one of her squad mates, a human, Pollock. She turned to face him. _

"_Hey, we were just go… what is that you're carrying?" he walked closer, squinting his eyes to see what was in Talyiah's arms. Knowing there was no use in hiding, she presented the blood elf._

"_It's a girl." She said bluntly._

"_Well I can see that, but what the hell are you doing with it?" He replied, irritated at her tone, "And it's a damn blood elf at that! What are you up to Talyiah?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at her._

"_I'm leaving, and I'm taking her with me." Talyiah said flatly; she turned to walk off._

"_Wait, you can't be serious," he laughed, incredulous, "you're joking."_

_Talyiah started walking._

"_You're serious," he breathed in disbelief. His tone changed, deathly serious now "You know I can't let you walk away." He yelled as Talyiah kept walking. "You are in direct violation of our orders! The commander was very clear when he –" Talyiah stopped and turned to face him again._

"_To hell with the commander!" She yelled; she didn't have time for this. Her sudden outburst shocked him, and he took a step backward. She turned and began walking away again. She called back over her should, casually; "I'll be leaving now." Pollock's voice was very quiet, but she could hear the edge in his voice._

"_Don't make me stop you Talyiah. You know I will if I have to." She had expected this._

"_Oh yeah, YOU'RE going to stop me? You know I can easily defeat you in a fight." Talyiah was the best swordsman in her unit, arguably the best in the entire army, and she was well-known for her skills. _

"_I'M not going to stop you," he continued," but WE are." _

_Talyiah narrowed her eyes and looked around. The sun had set and dusk was setting in, but she could make out the shapes of about twenty or so men around her – they had her surrounded. The yelling between Talyiah and Pollock had drawn the attention of the rest of her unit and they had come to see what was going on. Talyiah knew that they would side with Pollock; after all, what she was attempting was treason and was punishable by death. _

"_You can't beat us all Talyiah, you're outnumbered." He said softly, but still deadly serious. "I'm willing to forgive your offense if you hand over the girl; we'll pretend this whole thing never happened." He looked at her, almost pleading with her to comply. When Talyiah didn't reply, he continued, attempting to lighten the serious atmosphere, so he smiled as he said "Come on Talyiah, when did you get so sentimental anyway? We all know that you're a hardcore, ruthless, killer." Ignoring the question, Talyiah replied bitterly._

"_I would sooner die than give you the girl. Now, I'm telling you one more time, let me go in peace." Pollock let out an irritated sigh._

"_I didn't want to do this Talyiah, I tried being civil, but you brought this upon yourself." With that, he gave a hand signal and the circle of men began to close in on her. Talyiah knew that she could easily take them individually, but she wasn't so sure if she could beat them all at once. Regardless, she would fight them. Talyiah crouched down and set the girl on the ground; she had been watching the unfolding events with growing fear and Talyiah could see she was about to start crying again. _

"_It's going to be okay," she soothed, smiling, reaching out and tucking the blond hair behind her ears, "Just stay close to me." The girl nodded her head, her eyes hopeful as she looked up at Talyiah. She stood back up, drawing her sword; she had to beat them for the girls sake, she deserved better than this – Talyiah would not let herself fail. _

_Talyiah focused her senses as the first man charged at her. Even in all her armor she was fast enough to evade him, and the man's blade sliced through the air where her head had just been. The momentum of the swing carried him past Talyiah, and she spun, dropping to the ground, sweeping her blade into the back of his knee, cutting through and severing his lower leg. The man yelled in pain as he fell to the dirt, clutching his bloody stump. Standing back up, Talyiah brought her sword down on his neck, silencing him for good. The next attacker was upon her as soon as she had finished the first one off. He came at her from behind, attempting to impale her with his spear; Talyiah quickly turned and deflected the spearhead with her sword, knocking it away from her and smashed him in the face with her armored fist, his nose erupting in blood. He was dazed and Talyiah was about to kill him when the next attacker struck. She barely had time to evade the sword as it swung towards her head, the tip of it glancing against her helmet. The force was enough to knock her off balance however, and she stumbled, lost her footing, and crashed to the ground. Making use of his advantage, the man stabbed downwards, aiming his blade at her chest. Talyiah rolled out of the way, kicking his legs out from under him as she did, and he fell over on his back. She jumped to her feet and ran over to him; he was trying to sit up but was too slow. Talyiah jumped forward and slammed her knee into his face – he fell back to the dirt with a loud thud, knocked out._

_By now, the man with the spear had recovered and was charging at her again, this time with three other soldiers behind him; Talyiah charged back at them. Just before the spear would have penetrated her front plate, she ducked under the shaft and came back up, leading with her sword. She drove it up through his chest and out his back – blood fountained everywhere. Talyiah withdrew her sword and kicked the dying, squirming, man to the ground, focusing on the next three. The one nearest her struck out with his sword, and Talyiah parried it with her own. As her sword was locked with his, one of the other men swung at her and she couldn't hope to escape this one. The sword struck her arm, cutting into her bicep. Talyiah cried out and pushed the man in front her down, turned, and punched the man right in the gut, making him bend over, gasping for breath. Talyiah pounded the pommel of her sword into his back, knocking him to the ground – Talyiah didn't even see the next hit from the third man as it made full contact with her helmet. The mace crashed into her helm with immense force, making her ears ring and vision blur. She tried to counter attack, but the swing was slow, uncoordinated, and easily blocked. She was just beginning to regain her bearings when she was tackled from behind and brought down to the ground, hard. Talyiah felt someone flip her onto her back and a fist immediately met her face with brutal force, then another, and another. Talyiah used all her strength and managed to buck the man off her, and now she was on top, pounding his face in. Before she could beat him into a bloody pulp, however, someone from behind grabbed her arms and pulled her off him. The soldier had an iron grip, and she was struggling to free herself. Another man stepped in front of her and shot his fist into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and making her dry heave. Recovering, Talyiah pushed against the man holding her and kicked out with her legs, hitting the one in front of her square in the chest and sending him reeling backwards._

_Talyiah then stomped hard with her hoof onto the foot of the man that was holding her, breaking the bridge and making him scream in agony; he released her, reaching for his broken foot. Talyiah picked up her sword from the dirt and faced the man whose foot she had destroyed; she ran him through, until the hilt of her weapon pressed against his chest. Pushing his lifeless body to the dirt, Talyiah realized she was getting tired, very tired, and there were still more than half of the men still standing – the next wave rushed at her. Gathering the remnants of her strength, Talyiah met them head on. Try as she might, she knew deep down that could not hope to win this battle. She parried attacks left and right, but her arms started getting heavy and she couldn't react in time. Attacks that she would normally have no problem blocking were now connecting, and she could nothing to stop them. After a few minutes, Talyiah was covered in slashes and cuts; her armor was sundered and smashed, torn in numerous places. Talyiah fell to her knees with a heavy crash – she couldn't fight anymore. Her sword hung limply at her side, it was full of notches and it had begun to dull from the extended fighting; fresh blood dripped from the tip onto the dusty ground. Talyiah looked around, she had clearly lost. The men surrounded her, glaring at her, many clutching wounds that she had given them. But she didn't care about them; all she could think about was the little girl. In the heat of the fight, they had momentarily forgotten about the blood elf as they had been focused on taking Talyiah down. Talyiah looked at the girl, who was staring back at her with hope in her big eyes; Talyiah felt nothing put pure despair. This girl still held out hope that Talyiah could win the fight, she was depending on her to win, but Talyiah knew she had failed. Suddenly, one of the men swung at Talyiah's head; she didn't even see it coming, she probably wouldn't have even bothered to get out the way if she had._

_Everything that happened next was in slow motion and would be imprinted in Talyiah's memory for the rest of her life. The mace slammed into her head with tremendous force, snapping her horn like a twig and sending Talyiah crashing to the blood soaked ground. She heard the little girl cry out as she fell, and the men turned towards her, remembering that she was there. The girl started running towards Talyiah, but the men snatched her up before she could get very far, lifting her off her feet as she kicked and screamed. Talyiah laid there in the dirt, unable to move from exhaustion and her numerous wounds; for once, she was covered in blood that was her own. One of men shouted something she didn't understand – everything was fuzzy – and he saw the man holding the girl draw a knife from his boot with a wicked grin. Talyiah's eyes shot open as she realized what his intentions were. She tried to get to her feet, to save the girl, but she was struck down again. Talyiah watched helplessly, horrified, as the man put his knife against the girls throat. Talyiah shifted her gaze up to the girl's eyes; she was looking back at her, sheer terror etched on her small face; they didn't break eye contact as the man slid his knife across her neck._

"_Nooo!" Talyiah screamed at the top of her lungs, the shout echoing for miles in the still night air. The man dropped the girl and she fell limply to the ground, within arm's reach. Talyiah desperately threw out her arm and grabbed the girls hand in her own, squeezing it tightly. Still alive, the girl turned her head to look at Talyiah, her eyes and skin beginning to lose color as she was quickly bleeding to death. All Talyiah could do was stare, shocked, wide-eyed in disbelief, at the girl. She had failed. She had failed and now the girl was going to die all because she had not been strong enough – it was all her fault. Talyiah vaguely registered the sound of the men laughing as they watched the scene playing out. As she continued to look at the dying girl in front of her, Talyiah began to cry – the girl's grip on her hand began to weaken as she started to fade away. Talyiah wallowed in the misery of the moment, lost in her mental anguish, the reality in front of her too painful to bear. As she watched the last spark of life leave the girl's eyes, Talyiah felt something deep inside her twist and break – never to be whole again. Talyiah abruptly stopped crying and released the dead girl's hand, giving it one last squeeze. She heard the men still laughing. Talyiah calmly pushed herself to her knees and stood up stayed there, silent, motionless – the laughing continued. Aylo clenched her fists in anger, and bent down to retrieve her sword – nearly breaking the handle with her vice-like grip. Talyiah began to tremble as she stood there, trying to contain the burning, seething rage that swirled violently beneath her skin, threatening to consume her entirely. Her mind was on fire as visions of blood and carnage flashed before her eyes._

_She would rip them to apart, piece by piece, limb by limb! She would gut and maim them, feed them their own entrails, and tear their eyes from their skulls! They would plead for her to end their miserable lives and she would relish in their agony, painting herself with their blood! Talyiah began to shake violently as she felt her intense, hot, hatred course swiftly through her veins – they would pay. She gave in to her bloodlust._

_Pollock looked at her and laughed. "Calm down Talyiah, it was just a lowly blood elf. By the way you –" He never got to finish his sentence. With a howl of unrestrained fury, Talyiah leaped forward and was upon him in a second. He didn't even have time to register that he was dead as Talyiah swept her blade in a wide, horizontal arc, severing his head from his shoulders – a shocked expression on his face as his head sailed through the air. Without even pausing, she jumped onto the next man, knocking him to the ground. Talyiah thrust her sword down through the visor of his helmet with a sickening shriek of metal sliding against metal and bone, the blade not stopping until the hilt of the sword made contact with his helm. Caught off guard and terrified at how quickly and ruthlessly she had dispatched the two men, the rest of the soldiers tried to flee, but to no avail. Talyiah chased one of the men down in a matter of seconds. He was pleading for mercy when she caught him from behind, she swung out in front her, cleaving him in two, his intestines spilling onto the dirt. She went after the rest._

_Talyiah didn't even remember what happened next, or killing the rest of the men. The only things she could remember was the sound of her endless anguished screaming, and the feeling of her sword cutting through flesh and bone._

_As the night wore on, the blood haze slowly lifted from her eyes, and Talyiah started to become aware of her environment. She was breathing heavily and holding her gore soaked sword in front of her with both hands, ready to cut down the next person that was insane enough to approach her. Most of her armor had fallen off and the parts that hadn't were punctured in many places. She was bleeding from countless wounds but she didn't seem to care. Her face was the worst part. Her mouth was curled into a ferocious snarl, and her eyes had the look of someone who had lost their mind; her eyes wild, and her pupils dilated. Talyiah's hair was naturally white, but now it was completely dyed red with the blood of the soldiers she had slaughtered. Her broken horn completed her terrifying visage. She stood there, ready to fight, but came slowly to the realization that she was the only one left. Talyiah looked around her and saw that she had hacked the men to pieces, what was left of them was scattered about the ground – she felt no remorse at their fate. Her breathing and mental state returning to normal levels, she remembered the little girl. Suddenly snapped out of her blood frenzy, she ran over to the girl. Talyiah found her as she had left her, lying on the ground in a puddle of her own blood. She knelt quietly beside the girl, tears filling her eyes. _

"_I'm so sorry." Talyiah cried piteously, she was having trouble speaking through her tears. Her body was shaking from the force of her sobs. She bent over and rested her head on the girl's body, crying into her yellow dress. "Please forgive me."_

_She must have stayed there for hours, drowning in sorrow, because when she stopped it was nearly morning. It was an ugly day. Overhead, the sky was overcast, blocking out the sun; the dark clouds above were swirling ominously – a sure sign of an impending storm. Talyiah picked herself up off the ground; she bent down and gently picked up the girl. Talyiah walked out of the town with the girl, trudging up a hill that sat at the outskirts of the settlement. As Talyiah climbed the hill, the rain began to fall in torrents; soon, the ground below turned to mud and Talyiah struggled against it on her ascent. Eventually, Talyiah reached the top. The hill was the highest point for miles and below the whole village could be seen, as well as the surrounding landscape; Talyiah would have thought it beautiful on any other day. Talyiah set the girl down and began digging a grave with her bare hands, not stopping until she was done. Her hands bleeding and raw, Talyiah placed the girl in the hole. Talyiah jumped down next to her body and kneeled, opening the girl's tiny hand and placing the broken half of her horn into her palm. Talyiah looked once more upon the girl, and then turned away. Not even bothering to fight back her tears, Talyiah climbed out and began filling the grave back in. Once she was done, she went back to the town for the girl's parents. She had to make two trips but she didn't even care, she was beyond caring. She dug a grave for each and buried all three of them next to each other. Stepping back, she looked at her work – it wasn't much but it was the best she could do. Grabbing her sword, she began walking; she didn't care where she ended up, so long as it wasn't here._

Aylo woke with a start. She sat up slowly. She pulled her knees to her chest and put her head down. Aylo started crying.

Authors Note: Hey, thanks for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed at least some of it. Feel free to leave any comments, good or bad, I would appreciate it either way. There is still plenty more left for me to write, so come check back in if you want to. Have you a good day, and thanks again.


	7. Close Encounters

Sylnarri looked at the door expectantly as she heard Aylo's footsteps draw closer. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of seeing Aylo again; she had grown quite fond of the draenei over the past few days. Aylo had been so nice to her, even though she was blood elf and they were supposed to be enemies. Sylnarri was used to being greeted with insults and curses by the Alliance races wherever she went, but Aylo didn't seem to care about any of that; Sylnarri had no idea how she could hope to repay her kindness.

Seeing Aylo always put her in a good mood, her cheerful disposition was just so contagious and it never failed to rub off on her. Sylnarri didn't know, however, what to make of Aylo's occasional strange behavior. They would be doing their normal routine, Aylo helping her eat and making sure her injuries were healing, when she would suddenly stop and just stare at her with those blue eyes. Sylnarri felt as if Aylo was looking directly into her soul as their eyes locked, and then Aylo would quickly turn away, but Sylnarri knew that she was blushing and trying to hide it. Sylnarri felt her own face grow a little hot too; no one had ever looked at her like that before and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Aylo would then awkwardly excuse herself and Sylnarri wouldn't see her until the next meal; that was how her visits always ended. She wished Aylo would stay longer and talk to her, she enjoyed the draenei's company and lying in bed all day made her restless.

Sylnarri looked with anticipation at door as the handle turned and it swung open, "Good morning, Sylnarri," Aylo sighed wearily. Sylnarri's smile turned into a frown, something was different about Aylo.

She looked… defeated.

Her usual upright and proud posture was now slightly hunched, and she walked as if every step took an immense effort on her part, like her feet were made of lead. The usual enthusiasm in her voice was gone; it now sounded tired and full of sorrow. Her normally well groomed, lustrous hair was disheveled. But it was her eyes that Sylnarri noticed the most. They didn't shine like they used to, they seemed dark now, and brooding. Looking into them, Sylnarri could see a deep sadness that spoke of some terrible event they had witnessed, an unforgettable tragedy. There were dark circles under her eyes as well, as if she had been up all night.

Sylnarri began to worry. She hadn't seen Aylo like this before and it bothered her to see the draenei so obviously troubled. She wanted to help her but didn't know how. She was about to voice her concern but just frowned and didn't say anything as Aylo sat on the edge of the bed and placed the tray of food over her.

Sylnarri was well enough to feed herself now, but Aylo still came in and sat with her while she ate to keep her company. Sylnarri carefully pushed herself upright and leaned back against the headboard, using the pillows as a comforter. She looked at the food in front of her, as usual it looked amazing; Aylo was an incredible cook. But Sylnarri was too worried about Aylo to pay the food much attention and turned her gaze towards her. She decided to speak up.

"Aylo, are you okay?" she asked cautiously, concern evident in her voice. Aylo, who had been staring blankly at the wall, started and looked at Sylnarri as if she had forgotten that she was laying there in the bed.

"Sorry," she said meekly, apologetic, "My mind was elsewhere. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were alright… are you?" Sylnarri's voice full of genuine worry.

Her question seemed to upset Aylo even more, "Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine" She answered shakily with a weak, unconvincing smile. She seemed on the verge of tears, as if she was just barely holding them back.

"You, on the other hand, still have a while to go until you're up and about, so eat up!" Aylo spouted as cheerily as she could, trying to bolster her unsteady voice with hollow enthusiasm. Sylnarri wasn't buying it; she looked like she was about to break down crying at any moment. Aylo nudged the tray closer to Sylnarri, urging her to eat. She didn't touch it.

"Aylo, are you sure you're okay? You can tell me," She pressed. She hated seeing Aylo in such a sorry state and desperately wanted to help. Aylo held her gaze for a moment and then looked down.

"It wouldn't be polite to burden you with my troubles, you're my guest." She looked back up at Sylnarri, "Now would you please eat? You need it to get better," Aylo insisted, her voice trembling now, about to break. Sylnarri pressed on, suddenly feeling stubborn. She crossed her arms, wincing slightly; her right arm was still quite broken.

"I'm not eating until you tell me what's wrong." She stated firmly. She regretted saying it immediately. She saw a single tear fall down Aylo's cheek before she quickly wiped it away and turned. She pushed herself off the bed and walked to door, stopping at the entrance.

She spoke with her back to Sylnarri, her voice broken and wavering, "I think I, uh, forgot your water in the kitchen. I'm…I…I'll be right back" She walked out and Sylnarri listened as the sound of her hasty footsteps faded. She looked at the tray; a glass of water was next to the plate of scrambled eggs. Off in the kitchen she could hear Aylo crying. Sylnarri felt horrible.

'_Look at what I've gone and done now,'_ she thought, angry at herself, '_I just made the person who saved my life cry._' Sylnarri exhaled loudly and looked at the food, she didn't really feel like eating, but it might make Aylo feel a little better if she did since she was so insistent that she eat; she picked up the fork. Despite feeling awful about Aylo, she noticed that once again that the food was amazing. She had just finished the last bite when the door opened and Aylo walked back in; Sylnarri winced when she saw that Aylo had another cup of water for her. She felt like the worst person in the world.

'_She didn't even forget my water in first place,'_ she thought sadly to herself, 'and_ she went ahead and got another one for me. I don't deserve her kindness.'_ She looked back at Aylo.

"Aylo, I'm sorry about – "

"It's not your fault." Aylo said before she could finish, "You didn't do anything wrong." She had composed herself a little and her voice was steadier than before. "I'm just having some, personal, problems right now, to put it lightly." Sylnarri didn't want to upset her again, but she decided to ask anyway.

"I know we don't know each other that well, but would you mind telling me?" She asked timidly, "I might be able to help. Sometimes just having someone listen can help."

"Another time, perhaps," Aylo replied, "But for now it would be best not to discuss such things."

"I just…was worried about you is all." Sylnarri stated, suddenly feeling shy. She _was_ worried, but hearing herself say it out loud in front of Aylo, she felt self-conscious. Sylnarri looked down at her hands, as if inspecting them, hiding her embarrassment at admitting her concern. Aylo didn't seem to notice.

"Well, I appreciate your interest in my well-being." Sylnarri looked up and saw Aylo smiling at her, it was a small one but, but sincere; she grinned back sheepishly.

"Yeah, no problem…" she said quietly, still embarrassed. A few awkward moments of silence passed before Aylo spoke up.

"I see you ate everything, you must have been starving!" She exclaimed, her enthusiasm slowly returning. Grateful for the change of subject, Sylnarri quickly responded.

"Oh it was great, you always make amazing food."

"I'm glad you think so." Aylo replied, the compliment visibly lightening her spirits. Sylnarri sighed inwardly, relieved to see her returning to her normal self. She decided this might be a good time to get some answers about why Aylo was helping her. She readjusted herself against the headboard before speaking.

"So, where exactly did you find me anyway?" She inquired.

"Oh not too far away from here, just about five miles out in the forest."

"…How?"

"Well, I was out picking some herbs when I found you. I saw you walk into the clearing where I was sitting and you just, fell to the ground." She stopped, waiting for Sylnarri to say something. When she didn't, she sat down on the edge on the bed and continued with her story.

"Naturally, I was curious about your appearance, so I went over to investigate" She suddenly laughed "The grass was so tall that I couldn't see where you were, and I found you by tripping over you!" Sylnarri let out a small chuckle but remained silent, listening to Aylo.

"You were unconscious and beat up pretty bad, so I carried you back to my house" Aylo held her arms out, gesturing to the room, "And now you're here." Sylnarri thought for a moment, absorbing the information.

"…But, why?" She asked slowly, glancing at Aylo.

"That's simple," Aylo answered, "You needed my help." She said it matter-of-factly, as if her reason should have been obvious to Sylnarri.

"You…you didn't care that I was a blood elf?" She asked, somewhat skeptical. Sylnarri looked directly at Aylo, who seemed to tense at her words.

"I put those petty differences aside a long time ago." Aylo had a distant look in her eyes as she spoke, as if in remembrance. She blinked and turned her attention back to Sylnarri, smiling warmly.

"To me, you're just another person, no different from anyone else."

Sylnarri could barely believe what she had just heard.

_Did she really just say that? She doesn't care that I'm a blood elf?!_

Aylo's words almost made her feel like crying from joy. For years she had wanted people to be able to look past her race, and now here she was, Aylo, right in front of her. I guess she did actually start to cry a little, because then Aylo suddenly asked worriedly.

"Oh no, did I upset you?" She was leaning forward, a hand on Sylnarri's knee, her expression concerned. Sylnarri laughed while drying her eyes, and then replied.

"No, I'm fine," more laughter, "It's just… what you said means a lot to me." She finally managed to get out.

"Oh." Aylo said, clearly confused at her reaction. Sylnarri got herself under control and added.

"I'm really grateful for all you've done for me; I don't think I can ever repay you."

Aylo smiled kindly at her. "Your gratitude is more than enough for me, and probably more than I deserve. Here, let me get that tray out of your way" Aylo stood and picked up the tray and began walking to the door.

"Oh, Aylo." Sylnarri called after her, "I have one more thing to ask you."

"And what would that be?"

Sylnarri had lain back down, but the pillows felt a little flat from leaning against them, "Can you fluff my pillows?" She asked nervously, feeling like she was taking advantage of her disability. Aylo just looked at her and laughed.

"Sure, it's no problem." She set the tray on the floor and walked back over to the bed. Aylo bent over Sylnarri and grabbed the pillows. The elf sat up a little to allow her to fluff them, bringing their faces extremely close together. Sylnarri looked at Aylo, who was too busy with what she doing to notice how close they were, and noticed for the first time how pretty she was. Excluding the scar that cut diagonally across her cheek, she had smooth, light-blue skin, and she had nice, full lips. When she left the room earlier, she had fixed her hair and now it was braided, the tail hanging in front of Aylo's shoulder, touching Sylnarri's arm. Her face had a stern look to it, but whenever she smiled, she looked like the friendliest person in the world. Sylnarri continued to study Aylo's face as she kept fluffing the pillows.

"There, is that better now?" Aylo asked, finally finished. She was still leaning over Sylnarri, who was looking wordlessly at her. Aylo finally noticed the close proximity of their faces and was about to stand back up, but then stopped as her eyes locked with Sylnarri's. They gazed into each other's eyes, faces inches apart, Sylnarri looking up at Aylo, and she down on her, neither one of them wanting to move, the air heavy with tension. Sylnarri felt her heart begin to race and she bit her lip nervously, and without even thinking what she was doing she slowly began to bring her lips closer to Aylo's; the draenei immediately shot straight back up, away from Sylnarri. Sylnarri's face went extremely red as she realized what she had done, or tried to do.

"Wow, I'm… I'm so, so sorry," she stammered, her words slightly muffled by her hands which were covering her face in an attempt to hide her shame, "I don't know what that was." Aylo just stood there, and after her shock wore off she began blush too.

"I think…I'm…going to go" She said unsurely while pointing to the door. She picked up the tray and walked out without saying anything further, leaving Sylnarri alone.

_What the hell was I thinking?! Oh yeah, I wasn't._

She lay there with her hands still over her face even though Aylo was long gone.

_I'll die from embarrassment if I ever see her again; I just tried to kiss her!_

Sylnarri liked Aylo, that much was true, but not in that way… or at least she didn't think so...

No! She did not like Aylo that way. Sylnarri had never been with anyone before, but she was pretty sure that she was straight, and Aylo was a female. Although, no one she had met made her feel the way that Aylo did, like she was special. But still, Aylo was a girl.

_Then why did I just try to kiss her?_

Sylnarri had no idea how to answer her own question.

_Besides, she clearly didn't want to kiss me anyway, so it doesn't matter._

Coming to that realization, Sylnarri felt sad. Aylo _didn't _want to kiss her.

_Oh my, what have I gotten myself into?_

Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but I needed a quick break after I wrote chapters 5 and 6 both in one day. I did a lot of editing on this chapter, but I think it still needs some work. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, or at least some of it. I'm going to try and get back to adding new chapter 2 to 3 times a week. Thanks for reading!

September,11 2013: Hey guys, I won't be able to add anything this weekend because I won't have access to a computer, however I will be using paper and pen to keep writing and I hope to have the next 2 chapters uploaded sometime between Sunday night and Monday before midnight, thanks.


	8. Close Encounters Part 2 (Talis)

_She just tried to kiss me!_

Aylo was back in the kitchen, in disbelief about what had just happened.

_Sylnarri almost kissed me!_

Her thoughts were racing as she sat on the bar stool, trying to untangle the whirlwind of emotions swirling within her. Today had started out terrible. Her dream last night had upset her greatly and she had moped around all morning. She had tried to hide her mood from Sylnarri, but that didn't work. The elf's questioning had bothered her because she wasn't used to showing weakness in front of people. Aylo prided herself on being able to put on a brave face and keeping her emotions in check; she was ashamed that the cracks had starting showing and that she had broken down in front of the elf. After Aylo left the room and cried a little, she felt better. Upon returning to the bedroom and talking to Sylnarri for a few minutes, she had nearly forgotten about how rotten she had felt earlier.

Aylo laid her head against the cool, stone counter and closed her eyes, reflecting on that last thought.

_There's just something about her…that makes me feel…happy? _She pondered_. Like, she just… _Aylo hesitated, not knowing how to complete that though. She sat upright and sighed in frustration. She had been getting along just fine before Sylnarri had come along. Aylo may not have been happy, but things were getting better; she was learning to live with her past and find peace. But now that this elf had come barreling into her life, Aylo felt just as confused as she had been years ago, when it had all started. The draenei didn't know what to think or feel anymore, especially after what had just happened. Aylo blushed deeply thinking about it.

_She tried to kiss me_. She said to herself again, calmer now. Her reaction had been reflexive. Aylo hadn't been that close to anyone in a long time and Sylnarri's unexpected advance had caught her off guard.

_But what if I had known? _ Aylo furrowed her brow. She didn't hate the idea of kissing Sylnarri and she wondered if she would pull away if she tried it again. Aylo had messed around with a few guys back when she was younger, and the notion of… associating… with another female had never really crossed her mind – until now.

She bit her bottom lip, contemplating. She stood and picked up the tray and walked to the sink. Aylo absent mindedly washed the dishes as she thought about Sylnarri.

_Well, she certainly makes me feel different… unlike anyone else I've met. _Aylo grabbed the next dirty bowl._ She's also kind, and fairly attractive, to say the least. _She smiled a little. _Yes, she is definitely beautiful._ Aylo had washed all the dishes and reached to the nearby cabinet. She pulled out a rag to begin drying. _Those sparkling green eyes… that golden, silky hair… _Aylo had been drying the same plate for a while now… _and those pink, velvety lips… _Aylo licked her own unconsciously. She had been standing there for a while, plate in one hand, rag in the other, fantasizing about Sylnarri when the plate slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor, but she didn't notice.

"I want to kiss Sylnarri." She whispered, breathlessly, hardly believing the words as they spilled from her mouth. Aylo's heart fluttered, her pulse quickened, and her breathing grew shallow. She needed to sit down. She shakily sat back down on the stool and put her head in her hands, coming to terms with her realization.

_Is this why I always feel so awkward around her? Because I'm… attracted to her? _

_Surely it must be something else. _She tried to convince herself._ Me? Swooning for a blood elf?! _Aylo scoffed at the idea, the very notion was ridiculous; Aylo, the great and renowned Elf Slayer, enamored with the very same. She would have laughed if that fact didn't make her sad.

_It would never work anyway. _She thought sadly. I_f she ever finds out what I've done she would hate me, and rightfully so. She could never…like… someone who's slaughtered so many of her people._ Aylo sighed wearily, feeling nearly as bad as she had this morning. She stood up and walked to the closet and got the broom, she needed to clean up the mess on the floor before she forgot. She swept the ceramic shards into a pile and put them in a metal bucket and emptied it outside. Aylo wiped the dust off her hands on the front of her pants. She couldn't stop thinking about her newly discovered feeling for Sylnarri. No matter how hard she tried to reason against or fight it, she could not deny that she felt an attraction to the elf – a strong attraction. She sat down again.

_Maybe it could work. _She thought hopefully. _As long I can keep my past a secret, it might work. _Aylo looked out the kitchen window. A light shower had begun to fall over the forest, and from the looks of it, it was going to last all day. Aylo listened to the soft tapping of raindrops on the glass as she thought about Sylnarri. The more she thought about her, the more Aylo wanted the elf. She felt a twinge of guilt, imagining how humiliated Sylnarri must feel to have been so blatantly rejected; she had to go back and talk to her. Aylo pushed the stool back, the legs scraping against the floor, got to her feet, and headed to her bedroom.

* * *

Aylo stopped when she reached the door, she couldn't move – she was paralyzed with anxiety. Knowing that she now had… feelings… for the elf, she was almost too scared to face her.

_What if she doesn't like me?_ Aylo worried. _After all, she said that she hadn't meant it when she tried to kiss me. _She took a deep breath to relax herself. It didn't work. She shifted from hoof to hoof anxiously, trying to gather her courage. Aylo liked Sylnarri, and even though she knew it would be complicated or might not even work at all, she wanted to try it.

_Just do it._

Aylo nudged the door open and peeked in cautiously, "Sylnarri?"

The elf threw a pillow over her face, "Go away," she groaned, barely audible through the pillow, "I've made enough of a fool of myself for one day."

Aylo closed the door behind her and walked a few more steps into the room.

"You don't have to be embarrassed." Aylo said quietly, nervously, "It's alright, I don't mind."

"Alright?!" Sylnarri pulled the pillow from her face and looked at her, incredulous. "I tried to kiss you!" She exclaimed. She gazed at Aylo a moment longer and then her face began to turn red – she hid underneath the pillow again. "I hardly think that's alright." She mumbled sadly.

Ayo stood there awkwardly, wringing her hands, unsure of what to say. After a few long seconds of silence, the elf spoke again.

"Aylo, look…" Sylnarri uncovered her face, her cheeks still rosy "… I'm really sorry about… earlier." She looked down at her hands as she spoke, too embarrassed to look Aylo in the eye. "I just… don't know what came over me, it won't happen again." Aylo felt her heart sink a little, but she repressed it. She knew enough to know that kisses didn't just come out of nowhere, there were reasons behind them. Sylnarri had a reason. The draenei walked over to the bed and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. Sylnarri's eyes darted between her own hands and Aylo and she bit her lip nervously. Aylo leaned towards her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she said soothingly, smiling. Aylo paused slightly, deciding on whether or not to say what she was thinking, she had never been good at flirting – she took the gamble. "In fact," she continued, playfully, "I find it rather flattering that you think so highly of me." Aylo grinned at her. Sylnarri gaped at her, wide-eyed. Aylo could tell that she was trying speak from the way her mouth was moving, but no words came out. Aylo laughed. The blood elf's face went straight scarlet.

"I… I don't think highly of you!" Sylnarri managed to find her voice and nearly shouted. "I mean... I do, but not… ugh!" The pillow went over her face again. Aylo continued laughing but got herself under control.

"Okay," she giggled, "I'm sorry for embarrassing you again." She reached over and plucked the pillow away from Sylnarri, exposing her red face. Theirs eyes met. "But relax, don't take it too seriously." Aylo half-smiled and averted her eyes downwards, her voice softer, "It was just a kiss after all, and an attempt at that." Her eyes flitted back up, meeting Sylnarri's, whose cheeks were still slightly flushed.

"Are you sure?" She asked timidly, pushing herself up to a seated position. She brushed her blond hair behind her ears.

"I am." Aylo reassured her, smiling warmly.

Sylnarri laughed nervously and looked down for a moment, playing with her hands. "It's just… I don't want things to be awkward… between us." She lifted her head back up.

"If it makes you feel any better, we can just forget all about it." Aylo didn't want to say that, but it was what needed to be said, to ease the tension. She would have to take her time and wait for the right moment to let Sylnarri know how she felt.

"Oh thank you," Sylnarri gushed, sounding relieved and grateful, "I think that would be best." Aylo just smiled back at her.

"Of course." She decided to change the subject. "Hey, do you want to gather herbs with me later? I can show you where I found you as well if you want." Sylnarri just looked at her, confused. "Oh, I mean after you've gotten better." She added.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Sylnarri smiled, "It would be nice to get outside after being cooped up in here for days."

"Well then," Aylo stood, "I'm looking forward to it." She walked over to the door. "Is there anything you need before I go?" Sylnarri thought for a moment.

"Could you get me a glass of water, please?" She asked.

"No problem." Aylo answered, exiting the room.

"Thanks!" The elf called after her. She closed the door.

Aylo was giddy with excitement as she walked to the kitchen; she had a huge grin on her face.

_So far, so good_. She mused to herself happily. She was quite pleased with how the situation had turned out: Sylnarri wasn't as embarrassed anymore and they had made plans for later on.

_A date?_ She laughed to herself. She was in a great mood now. For the first time in years, she felt optimistic. She grabbed a cup and filled it with water, smiling.

_Things are finally turning around._ She began to walk back to her room.

* * *

"Damn this rain." Talis growled under his breath, he scowled up at the grey sky. It wasn't raining heavy, but if it kept up like this for too long it would wash the trail away. Talis pulled up his hood and kept going. He glided effortlessly through the thick underbrush of the forest, silent as a shadow. Truthfully, the trail wasn't that hard to follow, there were broken twigs and scraps of cloth signaling where the blood elf had passed, and he had tracked much more elusive targets; this was almost child's play to him. But still, the rain was adding some degree of difficulty, and his clothes were thoroughly soaked. What made it worse was that he wouldn't have even been out in these damn woods if he had done his job correctly the first time.

"I shouldn't have let her get away." He gritted his teeth, angry at himself. Foolishly, he had thought that the elf would succumb to the wounds he gave her that night. He figured that she would die out here, in this forest. That mistake had nearly cost him his head. His employer wanted proof of her death before he would receive the rest of his payment. So now here he was, running around in the woods looking for her body. He half hoped to find her alive. At first he just wanted to kill her and get it over with, quickly. But now that he had spent so much time trying to find her, he would like to take her back alive and make it worth the while; he would be paid double if he did. Talis ducked under a low hanging, moss covered branch. He stepped over ancient, gnarled roots that snaked across the forest floor. He had to admit though, he was impressed that the elf had made it so far; from the injuries he had inflicted on her, he hadn't expected her to make it this deep into the woods. Nevertheless, he would not fail this time; his honor would not allow it. This was the first time he had ever come up short on a mission, and he was determined to rectify it. Up ahead, he could see a break in the trees and the trail led straight ahead. He pushed on. He came out into a small clearing and he could see the bent stalks of grass where the elf had walked. He followed them, but then they just stopped. Talis paused and looked around; he was in the middle of the meadow and the trail stopped here.

"What in the hell?" Talis wondered aloud. He knelt down to where the trial ended. He removed his glove and ran his hand across the area, looking for anything unusual. She had obviously been laying here at some point, that much he could tell.

"Where did you go?" He whispered to himself, curiously. He brought his hand to his chin and tapped his finger against his lips, thinking. There was no blood, so she hadn't been eaten by an animal, and there was no trial leading from this one indicating that she had gotten up and walked off.

"Well I'll be damned." He laughed. So far this had been a boring hunt, but now things had just gotten interesting. He now had a mystery on his hands. Talis stood back up and brushed his black hair from his eyes and readjusted his hood. He began to scan the surrounding area looking for any clues. He didn't find any. He returned to where the trail abruptly ended.

"Hmm." He narrowed his eyes, pondering. This was perplexing indeed. It was as if she had just vanished. He reached for his hip and drew his dagger, and flipped in the air, he caught it by the handle as it came down; it helped him to think. He stood there for few minutes, deep in thought, silently tossing his knife, the rain gently falling on the meadow. A sudden clap of thunder caused him to jump, and he dropped his dagger. He cursed and bent down to where it had stuck in the mud. He was about to pull it up when he stopped; there, in the mud next to where the blade had lodged itself, was a hoof print. He stared it, confused, and then looked to see if there were anymore. Sure enough, when he looked closely he could see more of them. The rain had nearly washed them away, that was how he had missed them the first time, but he could seem them clearly now that he knew what to look for. They made a trail. He followed them, a frown growing on his face as he did – these were strange tracks, they were unlike any animal's he had seen before, and he had damn near tracked every beast in the world. He stopped and studied the tracks hard, and then it suddenly dawned on him.

"These tracks are bipedal, like a human's." He thought out loud. "So that can only mean…" The answer he was looking for was right on the tip of his tongue, but it eluded him, "… a draenei!?" He exclaimed, surprised. Yes, these tracks were definitely made by a draenei, and a female judging by their size. He grinned in satisfaction; he had solved this little mystery. He walked back and retrieved his knife, wiped is across his knee and placed it back in its scabbard. He found the hoof prints again and set off, following them, afraid that they would be gone before too long.

Talis was excited at this sudden turn of events. He was looking forward to how this was going to end. He also was happy that the elf was most likely still alive; he would get the chance to bring her back in one piece. He would be a rich man after this, no doubt. After all, the Commander of Silvermoon's Shadow Company was a prominent figure, and her sister fetched a pretty price.

Yes, Sylnarri would be his.

Talis laughed to himself and set off, double time, into the woods, following the tracks.


	9. Commander Or'Shalis

She strode purposefully down the bustling hallway, the crowd of people parting before her and saluting respectfully as she passed.

"Good morning, ma'am." She kept her eyes forward and face expressionless as she curtly nodded in response and continued walking briskly, her crimson cloak trailing behind her. She wore black, steel studded leather armor that was handsomely crafted, as befitted her rank. Emblazoned upon the chest piece was a golden hawk, intricately carved, its wings spread wide. Her right ear was pierced with five silver bars, each representing half a century of service; on her left were dozens of small, black spheres, forming a line from the tip of her ear down to the lobe – one for every ten men she had slain. On each hip she wore long, expertly crafted dirks. They were a matching set; she had earned them during the invasion of Kalimdor and she wore them with pride. The hilt of one was fashioned in the likeness of a dragon, mighty jaws open, with bright red rubies for eyes. The other was shaped in the form of a snarling lion, with emeralds inlaid in the eye sockets. On her thigh were strapped half a dozen throwing knives; each honed to a razor edge and perfectly balanced. She was an intimidating sight as she walked down the hallway.

"Commander Or'Shalis!" She stopped at her name and turned to see a man pushing his way through the throng of people towards her—her second in command, Lieutenant Tayos.

"Make way." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was authoritative. The mass of people immediately parted, allowing the man to reach her.

"Thanks for that." He smiled, slightly out of breath and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "I've been trying to find you all morning."

She looked expectantly at him, "What is it?"

"Actually, could we speak in private?" He looked around at the mass of people surrounding them. Without a word, she turned and resumed walking, the lieutenant following close behind. Not much further down the passage, they reached her office. The wooden door was ancient and heavy and it required some effort to open. She pushed it wide with a grunt. Inside, the room was sparsely decorated – she didn't care much for frivolities. Banners were hung on the stone walls, souvenirs from the many different campaigns she had fought in and the different units she had served with. There was a plain red carpet covering the hard stone floor, and a simple wooden desk upon that. The early morning light streamed in through two slits that were cut into the stone wall, the only lighting in the room. The commander closed the door behind her with a heavy thud and took a seat.

The lieutenant stood at attention in front of her desk, "Permission to sit, ma'am?" He asked, trying to hide his smile. She grinned back at him and waved her hand, "Permission granted, Vithir," using his first name. The formality instantly evaporated. Out in public they were professional, but not when they were alone. The two were old friends and had fought and served together almost since the beginning of their careers. As such, Vithir couldn't help but smile when he had to be so courteous and proper to his best friend – they both found it amusing. He retrieved a chair from the side of the room and pulled it up to the desk, opposite of her. He leaned back, relaxing into the chair.

"So how's your morning been, Sellanor?" His tone sincere, he looked at her intently. She sat back in her chair and sighed.

"Honestly, it's been busy so far. I've already had two meetings and I have another this afternoon…" She grabbed a pen from a drawer and twirled it between her fingers. "… And I still have to go over our equipment inventory; Derys still thinks that we are missing some weapons from our last mission."

"Well, that sounds like fun." He replied sarcastically, humor in his eyes. She stopped spinning the pen and looked at him.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea." She groaned, "And that's just the beginning. I have yet to finish that mission report, and the general will not be happy if he doesn't get it before day's end."

"Sounds like you have a full day." He said sympathetically, but still grinning.

"That's being a commander for you." She said, sounding weary. She had been promoted only last month, after the previous commander had retired, and she was already exhausted from all the work. She wished that she could go back to doing what she loved: going out on missions with her men. She enjoyed going out on dangerous assignments, deep into hostile territory. But now her place was here, doing paper work and managing Shadow Company, Silvermoon's most elite fighting force. She hated it. What she wouldn't give to lead her men in the field, just one more time. That was the lieutenant's job now.

"Is there anything I can do to help out?" Vithir asked, leaning forward. Sellanor tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully and raised her eyebrow at him, a strange glint in her eye.

"Actually," she said coyly, sitting up and putting her elbows on the desk, "There is _one, _littlething you could do." She closed the gap between them and laid her lips on his. Vithir was slightly surprised, but then smiled and pushed back, deepening their kiss. A soft moan escaped Sellanor's lips. After a few more seconds, she pulled back slowly, reclining in her chair again.

"Much better." She grinned. Vithir smiled widely back at her, but then it faded a little.

"After a kiss like that, I almost don't want to give you the news." He said apologetically, "I'm afraid I'll have to add to you to-do-list today."

"Let me hear it." She told him folding her hands on top of her desk. He cleared his throat and began.

"First off, two of our soldiers, Seri and Nivih, got drunk last night got into a fight. Nivih stabbed Seri, she's okay, but she is in the infirmary right now being treated." He finished, looking at her expectantly.

"Hmm," She started twirling the pen again, "Withhold one weeks' worth of pay and ten lashes for each." Discipline was everything in this unit, and she would not tolerate any misbehavior. He nodded.

"Now for the next order of business," His tone became more serious, "We got the reports back last night from first and second platoons. There have been disappearances from the border towns, and no one seems to know why; people are there one day and gone the next. They also found signs of Alliance activity in the country side, although they could not find any evidence to link them to the missing civilians." He stopped, letting Sellanor absorb the information.

"Send a message to first and second platoon that I want them to stay out there for another two weeks. I want them to increase the frequency and scope of their patrols. If there is indeed Alliance lurking about, I want them found, and their intentions known." She stated calmly, confidently. "As for the missing townspeople, I want third platoon to station a team in each town to watch for anything unusual." She slipped out a paper from her desk and began writing down her orders. "They will have three days to make preparations; I want them in place by the end of next week." She signed the document and folded it up, sealing it with wax, and handed it to Vithir. He took from her with a nod, "It will be as you say, commander." He said formally, his face stern. "Is that all?"

Sellanor tossed her fiery red hair back stretched out her neck, "Yes, that's all."

Vithir resumed his casual manner, and said softly, "There is one more bit of news I have to tell you."

Sellanor just looked at him, raising her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

"It's about your sister."

Sellanor leaned forward, wide eyed, "Have you heard from her?!" she asked excitedly.

Vithir averted his eyes down, "That's the thing, we haven't," he reached out and put his hand over hers, "I'm sorry." Sellanor slumped back down into her chair. Her little sister, Sylnarri, was supposed to have been here two weeks ago. They had made plans to celebrate her recent promotion to commander. But after a few days had passed and she still hadn't arrived, Sellanor had begun to worry. Despite her wishes, Sylnarri had insisted that she would be fine making the trip on her own. Now she was missing. Sellanor checked her mail every morning, hoping to find word from her sister, but none ever came. By now, Sellanor feared the worst for Sylnarri's welfare; for all she knew, she could be dead. She sat there for a moment, chewing on the end of her pen.

"Vithir?" She said softly, glancing at him.

"Yes?"

"Can you do something for me?" She grabbed his hand with both of hers.

"Name it." He leaned closer to her.

"I know this is a lot to ask of you, but...could you look for my sister?" She gazed at him, her face was as expressionless as stone, but her eyes were pleading.

"Sellanor, I – "

"I'll take care of everything, " she added quickly, desperately, "I'll tell them that I gave you a few weeks leave, that you'd earned it because of your recent hard work." She gazed at him hopefully.

"I don't - "

"Please Vithir," she begged, "It's just that she's so young and naive. She has yet to learn how the world works and I'm afraid for her safety"

"Fifty-three, isn't she?" Vithir asked.

"Fifty-one." Sellanor corrected him, "Too young for me to have let her travel on her own." Sellanor put her head in heads, "Ah, it was stupid of me to allow her to do so."

"Hey, it's not your fault. Young she may be, but still old enough to make her own decisions." He soothed, trying to console her.

"Yeah, foolish decisions," she mumbled, rubbing her temples.

"Have a little faith Sellanor, she _is_ your sister after all. She has your resourcefulness and intuition."

She sighed, "I hope you're right Vithir." They sat there in silence for a few moments; Sellanor tapping her finger on the desk, and Vithir leaned forward in his chair, waiting patiently for her to say more. He didn't have to wait long.

"Please Vithir," she asked again, her voice soft, "I'm worried to death about Sylnarri." She stared at him with pleading, vivid green eyes. He was about to protest but stopped. He caved. He just couldn't say no when she looked at him like that.

Vithir sighed but smiled, "Well I guess I can't really disobey an order, can I?"

Sellanor grinned sheepishly back at him, "I'm not asking as your commander…I'm asking as your lover." She blushed slightly, and looked down shyly.

"Of course I'll do it," he said softly, "I'll set out right away." She looked back up at him.

"It really means a lot to me, I wouldn't trust anyone else to find her." She said gratefully, "Thanks."

Vithir just squeezed her hand comfortingly and smiled. He stood up to leave. She got to her feet.

"Oh, and please be careful, the company needs you…" she blushed again, "… and so do I."

Vithir leaned over the desk and planted a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, "I'll bring her back safely, I promise." With that, he snapped to attention and saluted sharply, "Permission to be dismissed, ma'am?"

Sellanor raised her arm, returning the salute, "Dismissed." Vithir about-faced and walked to the door and exited her office. Sellanor slumped back into her chair; she still had so much to take care of.

She pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment and spread it out over the desk. It was a map, showing all the land between Silvermoon in the north and Stranglethorn to the south – two whole continents. She studied it intently, her fingers tracing along the many boundaries and names of cities.

_Where are you Sylnarri?_

* * *

_Authors note: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I know its a rather short chapter, but I wanted to just get it out there so yall didnt get bored. Also, I now have over 1000 views and 11 followers! Words cannot express how grateful I am to all you readers, when I started I never thought I would even get over 100 views. Thanks again, and have a great day._


	10. The Date

"So this is where you found me?" Sylnarri shouted across the meadow. She crouched down and inspected the patch of ground in front of her, brushing her hair out of her face so she could see better.

"Yeah, somewhere over there." Aylo called back. She was on the opposite side, walking carefully through the tall grass and flowers. She stopped every now and then and pulled up a plant, putting it in her basket.

Sylnarri gazed at the ground for moment and shrugged. She didn't really know what she had expected to find here, but she had wanted to see it anyway. She stood back up and looked around. It was a rather dreary day; it had been like this for a while. It had rained nearly all week, but today it had relented, and so they had taken the opportunity to come out here to this meadow. It felt great to be outside again. Sylnarri held out her right hand and balled it into a fist, then relaxed, wincing slightly. She rolled up her sleeve – she was wearing clothes that Aylo had let her borrow, and they were much too big for her – and looked at her forearm. It wasn't perfect, her arm was still a little sore, but at least she could use it now and she was thankful for that. Her leg also had some stiffness to it, causing her to limp, but it wasn't a big deal. Aylo had done a great job fixing her up. She looked back at the draenei, who was bent over, pulling up a handful of flowers. She felt a fluttering in her chest as she looked at Aylo. She still hadn't worked out her feelings about earlier. She felt a connection to her, certainly, but she was unsure as to the nature of that connection. Still, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of Aylo; whatever she was, she knew that she could at least call her a friend.

Aylo straightened out her back and gazed across the field at the elf, "Are you going to look at me all day or are you going to help me like you said you would, Narri?" She huffed, hands on her hips, a smile playing on her lips. Sylnarri grinned back; she liked it when Aylo called her that.

"Coming!" She yelled, running through the tall grass. It didn't take her long to reach the other side.

"About time," Aylo said when she pulled up next to her, she bent down and plucked up another flower, "I'm almost done. I just need a few more Blood Spines and we can go. They're the ones with the large, red petals and purple stems. But be careful, they have – " too late. Sylnarri had already spotted one and reached down and pulled on it, hard. She cried out in pain. "…thorns." Aylo finished. The elf stood there, her teeth gritted, holding out her hand in front of her. She opened her fingers to release the flower but it stayed there, the barbs had dug into her skin. She shook her hand to get it off, but it held, firmly stuck on her palm. Blood began to run, and soon her whole hand was red. Sylnarri inhaled sharply, the intense stinging almost too much to bear.

"Narri…" Aylo scolded and grabbed the elf by the wrist, pulling it towards her to get a better look at her hand, "...listen next time before you just start grabbing things. Okay?" The elf nodded in response, wincing in pain.

"Please take it out," she whimpered, "It really hurts."

"That's what I'm trying to do, if you would just hold still." Aylo almost laughed. Sylnarri was jumping from foot to foot, as if that would make the pain go away.

"Okay, but hurry up!" she whined.

Aylo pulled her hand closer and inspected it. She clicked her tongue.

"It's in there pretty good, some of the thorns went all the way in." Blood Spines had nasty barbs, close to a half inch in length. "I'm going to have to yank it out." Sylnarri's blood had begun to drip onto the ground.

"Just do it." She groaned, biting her lip.

"It's going to hurt even more when I do." She said softly, grabbing the flower at the top where there were no thorns. "You ready?"

Sylnarri cringed noticeably but nodded and closed her eyes, preparing herself. Aylo pulled.

Sylnarri opened her mouth in a silent scream as the flower was torn from her flesh. She opened her eyes and looked down at the bloody mess that was her hand. There were holes all over her palm, fresh blood seeping out of them.

"…Oww…" she whimpered meekly, her eyes tearing up from the pain.

Aylo grimaced and looked sympathetically her. She pulled a cloth from her pocket and deftly wrapped Sylnarri's trembling hand.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts. I've done that same thing." She held the hand between both of hers, tenderly.

"I guess I'll just…oww…have to pay better attention next time." She half smiled, her voice laced with pain.

"You think?" Aylo replied, and they both laughed. Sylnarri sighed and looked at Aylo, who smiled warmly at her. She gave a nervous smile back – and found herself staring in the draenei's eyes. Sylnarri felt her heart begin to beat faster as they continued gazing at each other, like it had earlier when she had tried to kiss her. Aylo dropped her smile, her face becoming serious; Sylnarri noticed that the draenei was still holding her hand. She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed to speak.

"Uh…thanks." She said awkwardly, withdrawing her hand and holding it to her chest, "I'm in your debt once again it seems."

Aylo blinked, "Oh, it was nothing. It will be healed in a few days' time." She sounded a little embarrassed. She bent down and picked up her basket; it was filled to the brim with an assortment of different plants and flowers. "You ready to go back?"

Sylnarri looked around the meadow, "I suppose so." She replied, clutching her injured hand.

"Well let's get going then, no telling when it might start raining again." She looked up at the dark sky and started walking, Sylnarri following behind. "And besides, I'm starving," she turned around and smiled playfully at her. "I have a special dinner planned for tonight."

"Oh really? What is it?" She asked, her interest piqued, the awkwardness from earlier forgotten. Aylo made amazing food anyway, and if she was going to make something special, it was bound to be even better than normal.

"It's a surprise." She said coyly, turning back around.

"Fine, be that way." She pouted, but couldn't help but smile. "Thanks for taking me out here." She picked up her pace and came up alongside Aylo, "I enjoyed it, well except for…" she motioned to her bandaged hand.

Aylo turned to her with soft eyes, "I'm glad." She said sincerely, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "I did too."

They hiked most of the way back in pleasant silence. Sylnarri walked close behind Aylo, matching her stride as they stepped over fallen logs and hopped over bubbling streams. When they drew nearer to the cottage, Sylnarri broke the silence.

"Aylo, is there any way I can send out a letter?" She climbed over a massive, gnarled root, "I've been gone for a while, and my family is bound to be worried about me."

"Of course," Aylo replied, "I have pen and paper you can use. But it will be quite a trip to take it to the nearest city to get it delivered."

Sylnarri frowned, "Really?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Aylo giggled, "There aren't many mailboxes out here, as you can probably tell." She stopped laughing when she saw the disappointed look on Sylnarri's face.

"It's just that I know my sister will be worried sick about me. I was supposed to meet her weeks ago." She took a deep breath and continued. "She's always so protective of me, and she treats me like child." An irritated edge crept into her voice, "She doesn't think I can take care of myself, and I'm nearly fifty-two!"

Aylo was taken aback, "Fifty-two?!"

Sylnarri frowned at her for a moment and then laughed loudly, "Oh yeah, I forgot. We age differently."

Aylo was still shocked and said skeptically, "I find it difficult to believe that you're older than me."

Sylnarri was still laughing, "Well, in human years I suppose I'd be about…twenty-three?" She said thoughtfully playing with her hair. "Yeah, about twenty-three." She affirmed. She looked at Aylo, smirking, "Why, how old are you?"

"…twenty-nine…" she said stiffly, looking straight ahead, slightly embarrassed. Sylnarri poked her in the ribs, playfully.

"You're so young!" She exclaimed, still laughing. Aylo's face started turning red.

"Well at least I know not to go grabbing thorny plants, and you were nearly dead when I found you. " She said somewhat defensively, "So I'd be inclined to agree with your sister about your ability to make decisions."

"Oh, relax Aylo, I was just having some fun." But she had stopped laughing, her voice sounded hurt, "Do you really think I make bad decisions?"

Aylo felt guilty for speaking so rashly. "I think…" she chose her words carefully, "…you should think longer about what you're doing before you act." She looked over at Sylnarri, who was frowning at her. "I mean, you think too fast. Just slow it down a little and you'll be fine. You'll be able to see the consequences of your actions better that way." She smiled at her; it was the best thing she could think of to not offend her.

"Hmm," Sylnarri looked forward, mulling over what Aylo had said. A few minutes of silence passed between them before Aylo spoke up again.

"It's about a two day walk to the nearest city," Aylo said. "You know, if you want to send out a letter."

"Two days?!" She gasped. "There isn't anything closer?" Aylo shook her head.

"Well, I guess it will have to do," she sighed. She was tired just thinking of how far she was going to have to walk. "Can you go with me? I think I'd get lost by myself."

Aylo seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Sylnarri thought she saw a look of fear flash across her face. But it was gone before she could tell for certain.

"Sure," She said calmly, "I would be happy to show you the way."

Sylnarri stepped around a large stone in her path, "I appreciate it." Aylo smiled and nodded.

"We'll have to wait a few days though, for your leg to get a little better, or else it might take us three days to get there." The cottage came into view as she spoke.

"That's fine. It'll give me more time to write out my message."

They stepped up onto the wooden porch. Sylnarri turned to Aylo.

"We should go out more often, I had fun," Sylnarri quipped merrily. Aylo looked slyly at her from the corner of her eye. Sylnarri stuttered, realizing how she had sounded, "Not like that, I mean…out, as in, outside." Aylo just looked at her as she slowly pulled the key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Mmhmm, I'm sure that's what you meant to say." Simple enough words, but she had shine in her eyes and a knowing tone in her voice as she said them. Sylnarri blushed, "That _is _what I meant to say…h…honestly!" She fumbled with her words. Aylo just stood there, her eyebrows cocked, smirking at her.

"It…it is what I meant to say!" She whined, stomping her foot against the wooden planks. Sylnarri felt her face grow hotter as Aylo's smile grew. She tried to say more, but no words came out; her body had a habit of locking up whenever she got nervous. Aylo laughed.

"Oh, Narri, "she said light-heartedly, looking sideways at her, "you're _so_ cute when you get flustered."

_Cute?! _

Sylnarri stood there speechless, her ears burning. She couldn't have said anything if she wanted to.

"What are you getting so worked up for?" Aylo grinned, "I'm merely making an observation." She was clearly amused with Sylnarri's reaction.

Aylo looked at the sky, and then back to Sylnarri. "Well come on! You don't want to get wet do you?" Sylnarri hadn't noticed that it had started sprinkling while they had been standing there. Aylo grabbed her by her good hand pulled her inside, her legs not quite wanting to move.

_Wow, she has really soft hands_, she thought, looking at Aylo's hand wrapped around hers; her light blue skin contrasting with the paleness of hers.

Aylo dragged her into the kitchen, and then let go of her – Sylnarri thought her hand felt strangely empty.

The draenei set the full basket on the counter and began to sort out the days catch. She put some of the plants in jars, and other is bags "I'm going to go ahead and start cooking, if that's fine with you," she called over her back.

"Yeah, that's fine," she replied, absent-mindedly. She was still processing the events of the last few seconds. Aylo glanced back at her and smiled, "Would you start the fire while I get everything ready, please?"

Sylnarri gave her head a quick shake and regained control of her body, "Uh, yeah, sure." She walked over to the fireplace and sat on her knees. She grabbed a few twigs and some larger sticks from the pile of wood off to the side. She poked around the ashes and found some still smoldering coals. She piled the kindling on top and blew on the embers, causing them to glow brightly. Soon, she had a cozy fire going – it crackled happily in the hearth. Satisfied, Sylnarri looked at Aylo, who had her back turned to her. She was busy measuring and mixing, pouring and cutting, with a variety of bowls laid out in front of her – the elf furrowed her brow, thinking. She looked down at her hand, remembering the feeling of Aylo's touch, how…good it had felt. Her gazed shifted back up to Aylo, an affectionate smile slowing turning the corners of her mouth. She stood up.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked cheerily.

* * *

"Really," Talis looked sourly up at clouds, "Again?" It had begun to rain. He trudged along the muddy ground and came upon the rocky overhang that he had been using as his home for the past few days. It was the only dry spot that he could find. He tossed the dead rabbit – his dinner – onto a rock slab and sat down with a weary sigh. He unfastened his soaked cloak and unbuckled his leather jerkin, hanging them to dry. Luckily, the wood he had collected earlier had dried some. He moved them to the fire pit and quickly had a small fire burning. He rubbed his hand together over the fire, warming them. He pondered what he should do next as he gazed into the flames.

The other day, when he had followed the draenei's track, he had found a cottage. Knowing that must be where his target was, he had waited outside, silently watching from the trees. He knew they were in there. At night he could see their shadows moving in the windows, but they never left the house. He patiently bided his time, sitting there for days, the rain drenching him. He was about to give up and come back later, when the door finally opened. He watched intently as two figures stepped out. He recognized the elf immediately, Sylnarri. He almost sighed in relief to see that she was alive; he would be getting that extra pay after all. But the draenei… she had looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place why that was. Satisfied that he had found her, he waited until they were out of sight and got up and left. He had found this rock overhang and decided it was a decent enough place to make camp.

Talis grabbed the hare and drew his knife, skinning it. Soon he had it roasting on a spit over the fire, the meat crackling and juice dripping into the flames. He had not eaten for days and he thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. As the rabbit cooked, Talis pulled out his whetstone and began sharpening his knife out of habit, the blade ringing with each pass of the stone. He went over plans in his head as he did so. Having the draenei here was going to make things difficult, but he enjoyed a good challenge. Talis chewed lightly on his tongue, thinking about that draenei again. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before, and his gut instincts had yet to lead him astray. Talis set his knife down and leaned forward, putting his hands to his temples, thinking hard. He started growing frustrated.

"Where have I seen that face before?" He whispered, irritated, " I know I've seen it."

He sat up in sudden realization, his expression shocked.

"No…" he laughed in disbelief, "It can't be…Talyiah? The Elf Slayer?!" But he knew it was her the moment the words left his mouth.

"So," he said quietly, rubbing his chin, "She still lives." Talyiah was practically a celebrity in the Alliance. She was their hero. She had grown famous because of her exceptional deeds in the war, turning the tide of entire battles with the unforgiving edge of her blade. She had been the shining example of Alliance bravery and valor. They had even erected of statue in honor of her in Stormwind. When her entire company failed to report in after a mission, they had scoured the country side for the missing soldiers. They found the dead bodies of her comrades, but Talyiah was never found. The search went on for months, but eventually they gave up, declaring her dead. All of Stormwind held a day of mourning at the news.

Talis laughed. She had been out here all along, hiding. This was getting interesting indeed. But his laughter died as he realized what this meant. For some reason, Talyiah seemed to know this blood elf – they had evev seemed friendly as they were walking through the woods, casually joking and talking; he was going to have to get past Talyiah to get Sylnarri. Talis was handy with a blade, but he wasn't eager at the prospect of facing off against the legendary Elf Slayer – he would have to use more subtle methods to complete this job.

The rabbit was done cooking. Talis cut off a piece and stuck it on the tip of his knife and brought it to his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully as he ran over various schemes and scenarios, playing them out in his head. This was going to be tricky. He sat there, pondering, as the black of night enveloped the forest, the fire the only light for miles. The rain kept up its steady downpour.

* * *

Author's note: Some of the stuff in this chapter you might find conflicts with what I"ve already written, but I've gone back and edited those parts so it fits with this chapter. Specifically, I went back and changed all the "Aylos" to "Talyiahs" in the flashback parts. I know it's been slow going so far, but I'm trying to develop these characters as best I can. Thanks for reading! Have a splendid day.


	11. The Road to Hangman's Vigil

"Narri, could you grab my cloak for me?" Aylo asked as she was busy making the final preparations for their trip. They were going to Hangman's Vigil, a fairly large town on the edge of the woods, to mail Sylnarri's letter to her family.

"Yeah, sure." The elf responded pulling on her right boot. She stood up and tightened the straps, making sure they were tight and snug, she looked up at Aylo, "Where is it?"

"It's in the bedroom, inside the wardrobe." Aylo said as she took a piece of wax paper and wrapped the last of their bread. She placed it into her traveling satchel along with the rest of their supplies. Sylnarri left the kitchen and went to the bedroom. She walked over to the large wardrobe and pulled open the doors. Sylnarri was surprised at how spacious it was; even though it looked huge from the outside, she would not have guessed it to be able to store this much stuff. There were rows upon rows of shirts, coats, furs, cloaks, and some other clothing items she didn't recognize. Sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe were several chests and boxes; some were inlaid with gold details while others were plain, wooden containers. She had never looked in here before and she wondered what was in the chests. Sylnarri knew that she probably shouldn't invade Aylo's privacy, the chests were locked for a reason, but her curiosity got the better of her; and besides, she wanted to know more about the draenei. She looked back towards the kitchen and listened; she could hear Aylo still busy packing for the trip. Assured that Aylo was too occupied to come in and check on her, Sylnarri reached over to the largest chest and deftly flipped open the locks; they snapped up loudly against the wood. She put her hands on either side of the lid and lifted – it was surprisingly heavy. A cloud of dust rose up from inside the chest, causing Sylnarri to cough and pull back.

"Well…*cough*… this hasn't been opened in a while." She said as she pulled her shirt over her mouth to keep the dust from her lungs. After it had settled down, she leaned forward and peered inside. It looked like more clothes at first; but in the corner she spotted what looked like strands of hair. Curious, she reached over and gathered them in her hand, and with her other hand followed the strands, digging through the clothes trying to find the source. Suddenly, the hair ended and her hand ran into something hard. Puzzled, she got a better grip and pulled up on the object. She freed it from the clothes and held it out in front of her.

It was a helm, a magnificent one at that. The hair that she had first seen was actually a plume that sat atop the helmet. The hair was jet black and several feet long. The helm itself was crafted from a lustrous blue steel and accented with fine silver, although it was clear that it had seen better days. Most of the surface was tarnished and covered in deep gouges. Across the cheek plate, there was a cut several inches long that had gone clean through the metal. On the left side, there was large dent and some holes where it had been punctured.

_Is this Aylo's?_ She wondered, turning the helmet over in her hands, examining its numerous scars. _What would she have needed this for? And why is it so beat up?_

She set it off to the side and dug into the chest again, the discovery of the helmet making her even more curious as to what else was contained within the chest. She reached around, feeling nothing but clothes when pain suddenly lanced through her finger. Gasping, she pulled her hand out and saw that she had a small cut on the tip of her finger. Frowning, she put her bleeding finger in her mouth and sucked on it tenderly. With her other hand, she sifted through the chest again, carefully this time. Soon enough she found whatever it was that had cut her. This time however she gently grabbed it and pulled. Sylnarri's eyes widened in awe as she pulled out a beautiful sword; or it had been at one time. The blade itself was longer than both her arms, and it was made of the same blue metal as the helm. The cross guard was a pair of silver wings, flared towards the tip of the blade. The handle was wrapped in fine, but well worn, black leather. On the end of the pommel there sat a perfectly spherical sapphire, grasped in the clutch of an eagle's talons. Even though Sylnarri didn't know much about weapons, she was knowledgeable enough to know that this was no ordinary sword. This weapon would have cost a small fortune to craft, and whoever had owned it had been of high standing. She could also tell that it had seen a lot of action. There were many nicks along the length of the blade, and some were rather deep. The silver had lost its shine in some spots, and the leather straps of the handle were beginning to come loose.

_Is this hers too?_ She thought. She began to get worried. Maybe she didn't know Aylo as well as she thought. But still, it was rather difficult to imagine the caring and nurturing draenei ever having used these. _Maybe she has a brother?_ She guessed. _Maybe she's just keeping them safe for him... s_he continued…o_r maybe as a reminder of him. _She added grimly. She concluded that was the most likely scenario, in which Aylo had a brother and these were his belongings.

"Did you find it?" Aylo shouted from the kitchen

Sylnarri's heart jumped; she could hear Aylo's footstep's getting louder as she came to check on her. She fumbled with the sword and hurriedly threw it back into the chest, along with the helmet. She slammed the chest shut just as Aylo peeked into the room.

"Did you find it?" She asked again.

"Oh, umm…no." She replied sheepishly, smiling nervously. "There's just so much I didn't know which one you wanted." She gestured to the racks of clothes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot how cluttered it is in there." Aylo laughed, "It's the grey one to the left, with the star shaped clasp… yes, that one."

Sylnarri grabbed it and closed the doors. She handed it to Aylo.

"Thanks." She smiled sweetly, taking the cloak from Sylnarri. Aylo threw it around her shoulders and fastened the chain, securing it around her neck.

"Well, we're set to go if you're ready." Aylo said, shouldering her pack with a grunt.

"Yeah, just let me grab my letter first." Sylnarri walked quickly to the desk and grabbed the envelope, sliding it into a pocket on the inside of her jacket. She patted the letter flat against her body and smiled at Aylo, "Ready."

* * *

_Why did I agree to this?_ Aylo sulked to herself as she negotiated the wide stream. She jumped from rock to rock, the water was bitingly cold and deceivingly deep and she was doing her best to avoid touching it. _This is the perfect way to blow my cover._

Someone up in Hangman's Vigil was bound to recognize her; she had been a figurehead for the Alliance after all. And once someone _did_ recognize her…

She looked back at Sylnarri to see how she was faring. The elf was trying to follow the path she had taken, but her leg still wasn't totally healed and she was having trouble on the slippery rocks. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she took a step to the next stone.

"How are you doing? Your leg holding up?" Aylo called to her, concerned. Sylnarri looked up and smiled cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine." She answered.

"Alright, I just don't want you to hurt yourself." Aylo responded.

Sylnarri stumbled and threw her arms out to balance herself. She barely managed to keep from toppling over. She looked back at Aylo and grinned, "You don't have to worry about me."

Aylo just frowned and looked at her a moment longer. She shrugged and decided that Sylnarri could handle herself. No sooner had she turned back around to step onto the shore when she heard a shrill shriek and the splashing of water. Aylo whirled back around and saw Sylnarri completely submerged in the stream, sputtering and cursing. Aylo busted out laughing and jumped onto dry land. Sylnarri waded through the water to the shore where Aylo was waiting and still laughing uncontrollably. Sylnarri pulled herself out of the stream, water dripping from her soaked clothes.

"Thanks for helping me!" Sylnarri exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to warm herself.

"I didn't want to get wet; that water is freezing!" Aylo chuckled.

"Yeah, I noticed!" Sylnarri pouted, scowling at Aylo, trying not to smile. A cool breeze began to blow, causing Sylnarri to shudder.

"Ahh, so…cold." She said trying to catch her breath, her teeth chattering. Aylo felt a little sorry for her, the water _was_ really cold, but she still giggled at the sight of the drenched elf.

"It's not…fu…funny." Sylnarri managed to say, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. Aylo took off her pack and set it down.

"Oh yes is it." She smiled. She opened the bag and pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants, "This is why I brought extra clothes." She handed them to Sylnarri.

"Thank you so much!" She said gratefully, "I'm about to turn into an icicle." Sylnarri quickly stripped off her jacket, the wet material clinging to her pale skin. Aylo was surprised that she was changing in front of her, and she didn't know if she should turn around or not. Aylo continued watching as Sylnarri pulled off her water-logged boots; the water came gushing out of them like a waterfall. She then starting removing her pants – Aylo's eyebrows rose as her pants went down. Aylo was far too engrossed to even think about looking away now, and Sylnarri didn't seem to notice that she was staring at her. She had seen Sylnarri in her underclothes before when she had first taken care of her; but she had been unconscious then and here she was now standing half-naked in front of her. Aylo looked at her exposed, still wet, skin. She was shivering and covered in goose bumps. Aylo felt a strong urge to reach out and touch her, but she viciously fought it back

_She would probably freak out if… _Aylo trailed off as she saw Sylnarri grab the bottom of her shirt and begin to pull up.

_Is she really going to do that?! _ Aylo gawked. She really felt like she should turn away now, but she couldn't help but stare as the shirt rose higher and higher. Sylnarri had almost pulled it all the way off when she saw Aylo gaping at her. She stopped and quickly tugged it back down.

"Could you turn around for a second, please?" She asked, starting to blush.

"Oh, sorry." Aylo laughed, trying to act like she hadn't been staring the entire time. She turned her back and waited as Sylnarri took off the rest of her clothes. Aylo thought about stealing a small peek but she kept her eyes straight forward, wringing her hands as she fought the desire to look.

_Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it…._

"Ahh," Sylnarri sighed, "Much better."

Aylo turned back around. To her disappointment, the elf was fully clothed again.

"Thanks for the clothes," she smiled at Aylo, "I was about to freeze to death."

Aylo nodded in response but saw that she was still shaking violently. She closed the gap between them and unclasped her cloak, throwing it over Sylnarri's shoulders and wrapping it around her. She rubbed the elf's arms vigorously to get some friction going to warm her up.

"Thank you," Sylnarri said quietly, smiling and looking up at Aylo.

"Anytime," She replied warmly, looking back down at her. She felt Sylnarri lean in closer against her as she continued to thaw the elf's freezing body. Aylo moved her hands and began to rub Sylnarri's back.

"Oh." She moaned, "That feels nice," Sylnarri giggled, blushing ever so slightly.

"Does it?" Aylo asked, smiling.

"Mmhmm." She nodded slowly in affirmation, closing her eyes and resting her head on Aylo's collar bone. Aylo continued to rub her back for a while. Her arms were getting tired though so she slowed down and eventually stopped, but she kept her arms around the elf. Sylnarri didn't seem to mind though; she even tip-toed closer to Aylo and snuggled up against her. Aylo dropped her hands to Sylnarri's lower back and interlocked her fingers, drawing her in closer.

Aylo's heart was speeding, thumping so loudly in her chest that she was sure Sylnarri could hear it. She had never been this close to her, and the elf didn't seem to mind at all.

_Does this mean she likes me back? Should I tell her? _She thought excitedly to herself. _I've been pretty much hugging her and she hasn't protested yet. _It felt so nice to have Sylnarri so close like this, in her arms. She didn't want to do anything, afraid that it would ruin the moment. They stood together like that for a few minutes, neither of them saying a word.

_Should I tell her how I feel? _ She gazed down at Sylnarri; her eyes were closed and there was a faint smile upon her pink lips. Aylo felt reassured and made up her mind.

_I will tell her. _

Aylo opened her mouth to confess her feelings, but the elf suddenly spoke up.

"We should probably get going. " She pulled away from Aylo, smiling shyly "You know, before it gets dark."

Aylo let go of her and took a step backwards, rubbing the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed. She felt disappointed in herself.

"Yeah, you're right. We need to find a good place to settle down for the night." She picked up Sylnarri's wet clothes and wrung them out before putting them in her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and looked over at Sylnarri.

"You ready?"

"Yeah," she responded enthusiastically, jogging over to Aylo's side. They began walking.

"Oh, do you want your cloak back?" Slynarri asked, starting to undo the clasp.

"No, I'm fine," Aylo smiled, "You keep it."

Sylnarri pulled the fabric close around her. She stepped a little closer to Aylo and gently bumped into her. Aylo looked slyly at Sylnarri from the corner of her eye and bumped her back, putting some force behind it. Sylnarri yelped as it caught her off guard, making her stumble, but she caught herself. She laughed and grinned at Aylo, who smiled back at her affectionately.

They were soon deep in the woods again, on their way to Hangman's Vigil.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to put this up, but I've been doing other things lately. Aside from regular classes, I got Diablo 3 not long ago... so yeah, you guys understand. Also, if any of you find anything that seems contrived or isn't explained in the story very well, please let me know so I can fix it. Anyway, many thanks for reading, and I hope all of you have an amazing day.

October 16th, 2013: I'm about halfway done with the next chapter. I'm really surprised at how well my story has been received so far, I can't thank all the readers enough for taking the time reading what I've written. I'm going to attempt to get Chpt 12 up by Friday sometime, but no promises. Have a great day.


	12. Revelations

"Sylnarri." Aylo whispered, nudging her, "Sylnarri, it's time to get up."

She barely cracked opened her eyes and shut them immediately; the sun was already up and much too bright for her liking. Sylnarri rolled over on her stomach and buried her face in the cloak that she had used as a pillow.

"Already?" She groaned, "Can I sleep just a little longer?"

"No." Aylo said, gently prodding her again, "If we leave soon we can get there before mid-day." Aylo stood up and walked back over to where she had slept, gathering her things together and packing them into her bag.

"Besides, I made breakfast and it'll get cold soon if you don't hurry up and eat it."

Sylnarri bolted upright, hunger over-riding her drowsiness. She pulled her hair into a short ponytail and scooted closer to the small fire that Aylo had made. Suspended above the flames was a small skillet, where a few small hunks of meat were sizzling.

"Sorry it's not much." Aylo confessed, "But it's not easy catching a squirrel with just a knife."

"I'm happy to just have anything." She smiled at Aylo, "Thanks."

"No problem." Aylo replied, pleased, "Oh yeah, here's some bread too." Aylo threw her a piece.

Sylnarri devoured the small meal. Even though she was grateful, she wished there was more. As if sensing her thoughts, Aylo spoke again.

"We can get some real food once we reach town." Aylo got to her feet and slung her bag over her arm, "Which means the faster we get there the sooner we can eat!" Sylnarri didn't need any more encouragement than that.

They packed up what little else they had, put out the fire, and were quickly on their way.

* * *

The morning air had a slight chill to it, reminding Sylnarri that summer was nearly over and fall would soon be coming. Even so, the cool breeze felt nice; it made her feel alive. Sylnarri trailed silently behind Aylo, watching the ground for potholes or any other tripping hazards. She touched the star shaped clasp at her throat and thought about yesterday's events, smiling to herself; she had known that Aylo had been watching the whole time she was undressing. She had wanted to see what Aylo would do, and she had not expected the draenei to let her nearly get completely naked! Sylnarri laughed to herself and looked up ahead at Aylo, remembering the look on her face as she stripped off her clothes piece by piece – she wished Aylo would look at her like that again.

"So Sylnarri," Aylo said, breaking the silence, "What's your sister like?"

Sylnarri picked up her pace and came up beside Aylo, "You mean besides over-protective?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, it's her job; she _is _your older sister after all." Aylo answered, "She cares about you."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She admitted begrudgingly, "I mean, it's not all that bad. When I was little, she would play along with my make-believe games and stories." Sylnarri smiled, remembering, "And she would always be there when I needed her. Whether I scraped my knee or someone was bullying me, she would come running to save me."

"It sounds like she really loves you." Aylo observed.

"Yeah, she would always find time for me, and still does, even though she has a really busy job."

"Oh? What does she do?" Aylo inquired.

"Ohh, umm…" Her sister was a high ranking officer in Silvermoon, and she _hated_ the Alliance – there was no way she would tell Aylo that. "She's, uhh, she's an accountant." She lied, fumbling with her words.

_Accountant?! That's the best I can think of?!_

"I mean, she is in charge of Silvermoon's treasury." She continued, "She oversees the city's finances." She quickly glanced at Aylo, hoping she would buy it.

"Really?" Aylo said, impressed, "That's a great deal of responsibility. Your sister must be an important person."

"Oh yes, definitely!" She added quickly, relieved, "Very important."

_Well at least that part isn't a lie, she is pretty important._

Sylnarri thought again about the sword she had found in Aylo's wardrobe – she looked at the draenei.

"Do you have any siblings?" She asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Nope, my parents only had one child; me." She answered, pointing to her chest.

Sylnarri frowned, _Well that rules out it being her brother's…maybe she's a collector?_

She wished she could ask Aylo upfront, but then she would know that she had been snooping around in her personal belongings. She would have to let the matter rest for now; maybe time would reveal the answer.

"So why did they only have you?" Sylnarri asked, focusing back on the conversation.

"They died when I was little." Aylo bluntly stated.

"Oh my, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." She said flatly, looking at Sylnarri, "I'm not sorry; I got over it a long time ago."

"How did it happen?" She ventured.

"Disease." Aylo picked up a rock and tossed it in the air, catching it, "It nearly claimed me too, but I survived somehow." She threw the pebble up in the air again, "After that, I was sent to live in an orphanage, in Stormwind, and that's where I grew up." Aylo hurled the stone into the woods; Sylnarri heard it smack loudly against a tree.

"It must have been tough, growing up on your own."

"Eh." She shrugged, "It made me the person I am today; for better or worse."

"I see." Sylnarri said, looking forward, not quite sure how to respond.

_That's so sad, _she thought, glancing over at Aylo. The draenei, despite the tone of her words, wore a somber expression. Sylnarri wanted to inquire further about Aylo's past but she didn't want to press her like last time; when she made Aylo cry. She decided it would probably be best to ask at a later time.

As they walked the forest began to thin out and the trail became wider, eventually turning into a road. Signs of civilization began to appear; A couple cottages, a lumber mill next to the river, and some grazing cattle. Sylnarri began to feel apprehensive, remembering the last time she had been in a city, when she had been attacked.

"Aylo?"

"Yes?" She asked, glancing at her.

"Um, what kind of town is this?"

"It's mostly human," She smiled, "But they're fairly tolerant of your kind."

She must not have looked convinced because Aylo grabbed her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

Sylnarri looked down to hide her blush, but she smiled. She stepped closer to Aylo, interlocking their fingers; she liked the way it felt. They walked like that the rest of the way to town.

* * *

They crossed an old stone bridge that spanned a small creek which marked the edge of the forest. Up ahead, atop a grassy hill, Aylo could see their destination – Hangman's Vigil. The town was ringed by a wooden palisade and there was heavy traffic flowing in and out of the small gate. Hangman's Vigil was the largest town for many miles, and farmers from the surrounding area were bringing their crops to sell in the market. Many had carts to haul their goods while others simply carried large baskets filled to the brim with produce.

Aylo reluctantly let go of Sylnarri's hand and pulled the hood of her cloak down over her face; she didn't want be noticed.

They merged into the crowd and began to make their way towards the gate. It had been a long time since Aylo had been around so many people and it was making her nervous. The cacophony of braying mules and shouting men was deafening to her, and the mass of bodies surrounding her felt threatening and claustrophobic. To her left Aylo saw two young boys chasing each other around a wagon with wooden swords. Aylo felt her pulse quicken as one of the boys pushed his stick into the others stomach, shouting in triumph as his foe fell to the ground, faking death. The 'dead' boy laughed and got back up, taking off at a sprint, and taunting the other boy to chase him – it was too much.

_I'm not ready for this! S_he began to panic, _I can't handle this!_

Aylo looked for way out but she wasn't finding any. She weaved through the crowd, desperately looking for an escape. She starting hyperventilating as she realized she couldn't get out, the living river forcing her ever closer towards the town gate. She was about to break down right there in the middle of the road when Sylnarri appeared beside her, grabbing ahold of her arm.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her expression worried and confused at the same time.

"Yeah." She said breathlessly, feeling herself start to calm down, "Yeah, I don't know what came over me." She smiled sheepishly at Sylnarri, slightly embarrassed at her behavior.

"Are you sure?" Sylnarri frowned, letting go of Aylo's arm and grabbing her hand instead.

"Yes, I am sure." She smiled, squeezing Sylnarri's hand gently.

She let Sylnarri pull her through the crowd. When they reached the gate, the guards gave them a cursory look, they weren't used to seeing blood elves, but they didn't say anything, letting them pass unhampered into Hangman's Vigil.

* * *

The city was a bustle of activity.

Straight ahead, the entire town square was occupied by dozens of merchant stalls and vendors, the owners standing in front of their kiosks advertising their wares and prices to the people milling about. The air was filled with the scent of roasting meat and various baked goods: bread, cakes, pies, and other pastries – Aylo's mouth began to water. To her left was a strip of blacksmith furnaces, black smoke billowing from the chimneys. Inside the shops, strong, soot covered men worked the glowing steel; the ringing of their hammers providing a steady beat in the otherwise chaotic sounds of the city.

"Where should we start?" Sylnarri asked excitedly, looking at all the different stores and shops.

"I think we should mail you letter first_, then_ we can go exploring." Sylnarri pouted at her.

"Oh fine." She sighed while rolling her eyes; but she grinned, letting Aylo know she wasn't serious.

They walked around for a while until Aylo spotted the mailbox; it was near The Meddling Murloc, the city's inn.

"I'm starving, are you ready to eat?" Aylo asked as Sylnarri dropped the envelope into the box.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing!" She exclaimed, "Let's go!"

They made their way back to the town square where all the merchant pavilions were set up.

"It _all_ looks so good, I can't decide!" Sylnarri observed as they walked down the row of tents. Aylo had to agree, it was hard to choose. They passed a stall of smoked meat that nearly made her drool; she tried a sample and it was so tender that she didn't even have to chew it. Next, they came across of fruit stand whose owner boasted that the produce came all the way from Kalimdor. They saw many pastry stands and she couldn't help but buy a cinnamon muffin. It had been a long time since she had eaten anything sweet, so she could only get through half of it before giving the rest to Sylnarri. Eventually, she decided on a leafy salad thing that was supposedly a night elf delicacy and a slab of smoked beef from the butchers stall she had seen earlier. Aylo found a bench that was away from the bulk of the crowd and sat there. Sylnarri came up soon after and set her bowl down across from Aylo.

"What is that?" Aylo questioned, eyeing Sylnarri's food, "And what are you eating it with?"

"Oh, have you not had this before?" She asked, surprised, "It's pandaren food."

"No, I haven't." Aylo responded. It looked like little white grains, and she was using small wood sticks to eat them.

"Here, try some!" Sylnarri said, grabbing some with her sticks and extending it towards Aylo. She eyed it suspiciously, and slowly leaned forward, taking a bite.

"Well?" Sylnarri asked expectantly.

"Its…" Aylo chewed thoughtfully, "… kind of bland." She said slowly.

"Well of course! You have to add flavor to it!" Sylnarri produced a small bottle from her pocket and from it poured a black looking liquid over the rest of… the rest of whatever it was she was eating.

Aylo forked some leaves from her salad and began to eat. She looked across the table at Sylnarri.

"So..." She began, "Your sister runs Silvermoon's finances…" She took another bite, "What is it that you do?"

"Me?" Sylnarri mumbled, swallowing down her food, "Nothing special really, I just do whatever interests me at the moment."

"But you've got to make a living somehow."

"Well, I _do _kinda have an unofficial job." She said, poking at her food.

"Oh, what sort of job?" Aylo leaned forward, intrigued.

"Umm…" She shifted nervously in her seat "…I travel a lot and I… I occasionally sing at inns when I need the money."

"Really?!" Aylo asked, surprised.

"Yes, really!" Sylnarri blushed, "I'm actually fairly well known for my performances."

"I can imagine." Aylo grinned, "With that voice of yours, along with your pretty face, I can see why."

Sylnarri face went straight scarlet as she tried to come up with a response. Aylo laughed; she loved seeing how many shades of red she could make Sylnarri turn.

"Will you sing me a song?" She asked innocently, amused.

"Only if you have the gold for it!" Sylnarri responded, finding her voice. They both laughed.

"So you like traveling then?" Aylo asked once their laughter subsided.

"Oh I love it." Sylnarri said, serious now, "Unfortunately, I haven't seen that much. I've been all over the northern Easter Kingdoms, and I've seen a little bit of the southern half." She took another bite of her food, "But what I really want is to go to Kalimdor."

"I've done a fair bit of traveling myself." Aylo said, "And I've gone nearly everywhere in Kalimdor; from the sands of Tanaris all the way up to the foothills of Hyjal – it's quite an exotic land."

"I'm so jealous!" Sylnarri exclaimed, leaning forward with her chin resting on her hands, "Tell me about it."

"Honestly." Aylo chuckled, "I didn't get to sight see much, but it was beautiful: lots of wide-open tracts of land, sprawling forests, and rugged mountains."

"And?" Sylnarri pressed, hanging on Aylo's every word.

"Well, like I said, I didn't get to look around much while I was there."

"Oh…" Sylnarri mumbled, disappointed, turning her attention back to her food.

"Sorry I can't tell you more." She apologized.

"No, it's okay." Sylnarri said, picking at her bowl. A few moments passed and then Sylnarri looked at Aylo again.

"Why didn't you get to see much of Kalimdor?" She asked, interested again.

"It was because of my job." Aylo said, hoping that answer would satisfy her.

"What job?"

_Damnit._

"Umm…" Aylo's mind raced as she tried to think of a plausible answer; she couldn't tell her that she went to Kalimdor to kill Horde in the name of the King, "Cartographer! I was a cartographer." She felt proud of herself for coming up with that.

Sylnarri gave her a strange look.

"Isn't part of being a cartographer surveying the land?" She asked, confused. "Or am I just misunderstanding what it is that they do?"

"Uhh…"

_Wow, I'm retarded; so much for cartographer being a great idea._

"No, you're right!" Aylo continued, thinking as fast as she could, "They _do _survey the land, but I mostly did the map drawing and detailing; my partner did all the landscape observations and measuring."

Sylnarri frowned for a moment, processing the information.

"That's interesting." Sylnarri said, "Sounds tedious though, drawing maps."

"_Very _tedious." Aylo affirmed, nodding.

_She bought it_.

Aylo looked down at her plate and realized sadly that she had eaten all her food; it was so good and she wished she had more. She looked at Sylnarri and saw that she was finishing up her bowl of mystery pandaren food.

"Do you want to go look around some more?" Aylo inquired.

"Yeah sure!" Sylnarri answered, downing the last bite. "I noticed a place earlier that I want to see."

They walked back over to the market and into the surge of people once again. Aylo had no idea what stand Sylnarri was looking for so she let her lead the way.

"There!" She pointed, grabbing Aylo by the hand and pushing her way through the crowd.

They came upon another merchant's pavilion, although this one looked much more exotic than the others. Fine, purple fabric was hung about the frame of the stall and a deep blue cloth was draped over the table. On display were many strange items that Aylo didn't recognize. Sylnarri was picking them up looking at them curiously; they were obviously foreign to her as well.

"Ah, greetings draenei." Aylo looked up and saw a night elf woman walk up to table, "Forgive me, I stepped out for a moment." Her voice was like silk, the words gliding effortlessly through the air and falling softly on her ears. She had perfect, long, dark blue hair that reached to her waist. She wore a simple white gown that hung loosely over her lithe frame; she wore nothing on her feet.

"Oh its fine." Aylo said, "I was just looking."

The woman smiled and nodded. She turned her gaze to Sylnarri.

"Sin'dorei." She stated with a hint of reproach, acknowledging her presence.

Sylnarri merely bowed slightly in response, although Aylo could see a glint of anger in her eyes.

"Do you know what these are, draenei?" She asked, turning her attention back to Aylo.

"I have no idea." Aylo admitted.

"Well..." The night elf reached down and picked up one of the trinkets in front of Aylo, "…These are Kaldorei charms." She spoke softly, ponderously, each syllable perfectly articulated.

"This one in particular is for strength." She held it out for Aylo to see, "It's a tooth from a night saber, a ferocious animal."

"What about this one?" Aylo asked pointing at one that looked like a piece of wood.

"This…" She said, reaching over and picking it up, "…Is a piece of bark from a treant. It gives good health and longevity." She set it back down.

"Interesting." Aylo said, looking over the rest of the charms. She found one that seemed out of place and frowned.

"What's that one?" She asked the woman.

"Ah, that one." She mused, smiling faintly, "This one always attracts attention." She grabbed it and presented it to Aylo; she leaned forward to get a better look at it.

It appeared to be a miniature figurine carved out of some sort of black substance. It had two perfectly round holes for eyes but no mouth. It had an indistinct body, the only indication of it having legs or arms where some shallow scratches outlining where they should be. Aylo thought it looked a little eerie and she felt slightly uneasy as the figurine's empty eyes seemed to stare back at her.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's a figure, carved from demon bone." She said, offering it to Aylo; she took it reluctantly. It was heavier than she expected and very warm, almost hot. "The demon lord Mannoroth, to be exact."

"Mannoroth?!" Aylo hastily handed it back to the woman, not wanting to hold it anymore.

"If what I've been told about it is true, then yes." The night elf replied, amused at Aylo's reaction.

"What does it do?" Aylo looked at it suspiciously.

"It bestows great power upon whoever wields it." She explained, "Although only if it wishes to."

"Only if it wishes to?" Sylnarri asked, jumping into their conversation, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." The night elf answered, "It will deem whether or not you are worthy of its gift."

"And what gift would that be?" Sylnarri crossed her arms, skeptical.

"I can't say for sure." She responded, setting the black figurine back on the table, "I've never seen it choose anyone, but it's bound to be incredible."

"And evil." Sylnarri added, glowering at the night elf.

"Perhaps." The woman shrugged and pulled a stool from under the table and sat on it, "We may never know."

"I think I would be fine with not knowing." Aylo said, stepping away, "Thanks for showing us your wares, but we need to be on our way now."

"My pleasure." The night elf smiled mysteriously, "Come by anytime."

* * *

"Well that was odd." Sylnarri said bluntly as they walked away from the night elf's stand.

"It was a little creepy." Aylo replied, "Don't you think so? That little figurine was strange."

"Yeah." Sylnarri admitted, laughing slightly, "It was rather strange."

"To say the least." Aylo added. They walked aimlessly for a few minutes, looking at what all the different merchants had to sell.

"Well, where do you want to go now?" Sylnarri asked, glancing at Aylo.

"I'm not sure. I didn't really see anything that interested me… How about you?"

"Actually, I did see a few more places that I thought looked worth checking out." She pointed to a tent with a striped canvas. There was a large crowd surrounding it, blocking Aylo's view; she guessed that whatever was there had to be pretty good to attract such a large amount of people.

"Well let's – "

"Talyiah?"

Aylo felt the blood freeze in her veins. She turned slowly to see a burly man standing three paces from her, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at her.

"Talyiah?" He asked again, louder this time, taking a step closer and squinting at her.

"I believe you are mistaken sir." Aylo replied politely, trying to control the wavering in her voice. She put her hood back on; she had forgotten all about hiding.

"No." He said incredulously, and then shouted, "It _is_ you!" He walked over to her.

"Talyiah, my old friend!" He laughed heartily, embracing Aylo in his large arms; she felt her back pop as he hugged her. He let go of her and stepped back, smiling at her.

"It's great to see you again!" He slapped her on the shoulder and grinned widely. "Don't you remember me?" Aylo looked nervously over at Sylnarri; she had taken a few steps back and was wearing a confused expression. She turned back to the man.

"I'm sorry, I don't –"

"It's me, Harad, your old blacksmith back in the war!" He continued, laughing, "You always put me to work when you came back from battle: your sword would be duller than a doorknob from all the elves you killed!" Aylo cringed.

_No no no no no… this can't be happening._

"Aylo, what is he talking about?" Sylnarri looked from Harad to Aylo, she was wringing her hands nervously and she was beginning to look worried. Aylo tried to go over to Sylnarri and talk to her but Harad grabbed her, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"So where have you been all these years? Everyone had thought you dead, but I knew better; no one could ever kill Talyiah! I told'em, but no one ever believed me." Harad suddenly seemed to realize something and began to yell.

"Hey everyone, Talyiah is alive!" He shouted, pulling her hood back down, exposing her, "Our hero has returned!"

People began to turn to see what the commotion was. Aylo could see them start to gape as they began to recognize her. A crowd began to from around them and Aylo could hear excited murmuring and her name being whispered.

Aylo closed her eyes, wishing to be anywhere but here – soon other people began to shout her name excitedly, telling everyone in the town that Talyiah was alive and well.

"Talyiah…" Sylnarri whispered, "… I know that name; Talyiah the Elf Slayer." She shook her head in disbelief. "Is it true?"

"That's right elf." Harad said, "The one and only Talyiah. I'm surprised that your head is still attached to your shoulders!"

Aylo reached out to Sylnarri, but the elf flinched and recoiled away from her. She looked fearfully at Aylo.

Aylo felt a sharp pain in her chest as she looked into Sylnarri's frightened eyes.

_She's afraid of me_…

Aylo felt a wave tears begin to well up, threatening to spill over.

"Aylo, is… is this true?" Sylnarri asked quietly, her eyes looking deep into Aylo's.

Aylo bolted, sprinting through the surprised crowd – she heard Sylnarri shout her name, telling her to wait; she just kept running.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey y'all, thanks for reading. If any of you are curious as to how long this story is going to be, if everything goes as I plan it this right here is maybe about 10% of the way through; I have pretty big plans for the story. Right now its pretty small scope, but I plan on opening it up a lot later on. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading, and have an amazing day. Also, one more thing, I'm considering writing a Diablo fanfic, or a Killzone one. Okay, have a great day!


	13. Resolutions and Premonitions

"Aylo!" Sylnarri shouted, "Wait!"; but it was too late. Aylo had already cut through the crowd of confused bystanders and was well out of sight. Sylnarri sighed in distress and ran both her hands through her short hair, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

_What was...I don't even...what?! _Sylnarri was speechless even in her thoughts, _...she was lying to me the whole time? _

Sylnarri suddenly noticed how quiet it was and she looked up, realizing that everyone was staring at her; Harad was looking at her with raised eyebrows, a puzzled expression on his bearded face. Sylnarri felt her ears begin to burn from all they eyes on her, she didn't like all this attention.

"Excuse me." She said politely, walking quickly, head down, in the opposite direction Aylo went; she made sure to grab the bag that the draenei had dropped. She pushed through the mass of people and came out on the other side. She continued walking briskly until she had put a fair distance between her and the crowd. She turned a corner onto a side street and leaned back against one of the buildings.

Sylnarri let out a long, slow breath; she could still barely believe it.

_This whole time she'd been lying...Talyiah._ Sylnarri shook her head in disbelief.

_Well I guess that explains the sword_ _in her closet. _Sylnarri thought vaguely, then shuddered, realizing she had held the weapon that had ended the lives of so many of her people; she almost felt sick thinking about it. She shivered again, recounting everything she'd been told about Talyiah.

Talyiah had been one of the most infamous, and hated, enemies in the war; at least from the blood elves' perspective. There were countless stories about her brutality. In all accounts Talyiah was described as a monstrous, merciless butcher, who killed indiscriminately any blood elf she came across: be it soldier, civilian, man, woman, or child. Her sister, Sellanor, hated her especially; she had fought in different theater than Talyiah during the war, and she never got the chance to face the draenei. Sellanor was furious when the treaty was signed, ending the war. She wanted to personally kill Talyiah, and she vowed that she would, regardless if the war was over. Sylnarri remembered the night when her sister had made that promise; she had been deathly serious. But then reports came in that Talyiah's entire unit had been eliminated, and everyone took her for dead. Until now, Sylnarri had thought her dead as well; not anymore.

_I've been living with my people's greatest enemy..._Sylnarri felt weak in the knees..._and I never realized it! _Sylnarri shook her head and laughed mirthlessly, thinking about how her sister always treated her like a child.

"I guess Sellanor was right; I'm still as naive as ever."

She sighed wearily and looked up into the blue sky, as if she could find an answer written in the clouds, telling her what she should do; her entire world had been flipped upside down and she was lost. She thought about Aylo and felt a sharp pain in her heart, thinking about the feelings she had developed for the draenei over the past few weeks. On one hand, she still felt strongly for her; but on the other hand, she was afraid of her. The two emotions battled savagely inside Sylnarri but neither side was winning.

As Sylnarri struggled with her conflicting feelings, she slowly came to a realization: Aylo was nothing like how the stories portrayed her; in fact, she was the exact opposite of what the stories told.

_She's never tried to hurt me. _Sylnarri furrowed her brow thoughtfully. _And I've never felt threatened around her...I honestly feel safer when she's near me. In fact, she saved my life! _

Sylnarri knew that Aylo was indeed Talyiah, there was no doubt about that now, but...

_...but she's so nice to me..._

Sylnarri thought back about all the good things Aylo had done for her, and she smiled to herself; Aylo was friendly, nurturing, and kind; a far cry from the violent, menacing, and bloodthirsty Talyiah that she had been told about.

_Maybe she's trying to change._ Sylnarri speculated, _She doesn't want to be that person anymore._

_If thats true, then maybe I don't have to fear her_. Sylnarri pondered, _Maybe there's still a chance we can be friends...or more than that. _She smiled again at the thought and then abruptly dropped it; she understood now.

_Duh, that's why she wasn't truthful with me!_ Sylnarri gasped in sudden clarity, _She was afraid that I would judge her, or resent her, if I knew...she just wanted to be my...friend; and that would have been impossible if I had known who she was._

_I have to find her!_

Sylnarri pushed herself off the wall and glanced around; she clutched Aylo's bag tightly and began to walk through the streets searching for her friend. Sylnarri still felt a little uneasy, knowing Aylo's true past, but she could feel it in her heart that she was right; Aylo was no longer the killer she had been.

Sylnarri was resolute in her decision, but there was still one lingering worry...

..._If Sellanor ever finds out about this_...

* * *

Aylo stopped to catch her breath, glancing around to make sure she was alone. She stood in the middle of a winding cobblestone street with rickety houses and shops looming overhead – she could hear the sounds of the market in the distance. She was completely lost but it didn't matter – she had just needed to get away from that situation.

Aylo began to walk cautiously down the street, listening for any pursuers, conflicted over what she should do about Sylnarri. She wanted to get as far away from Hangman's Vigil as possible. She wanted to run back to the safety of her little house in the woods where she could be away from everyone and everything – but she knew that couldn't abandon Sylnarri, all alone, here in this town.

The adrenaline rush of her flight through the city was beginning to wear off, replaced with a growing sense of despondency as she continued to tread down the lonely street.

_She'll never want to see me again,_ she sulked, _not after that; not after knowing who I truly am._

Aylo felt herself begin to tear up thinking about how Sylnarri had looked at her with eyes full of fear; eyes all too similar to the nameless girls' that she had let die so many years ago.

_I was stupid to ever think there could be anything between us! S__he was bound to find out who I was soon or later and all the horrible things I've done. _

Aylo quickly wiped her eyes, trying to dry her tears before they could fall as all the negative feelings and insecurities she'd held about herself came rushing back.

_She's too good for me anyway. She deserves better than a filthy and vile murderer. That's all I am: a repulsive, loathsome, dirty, broken…killer – that's all I'll ever be; I honestly don't even deserve to be happy._

Aylo was quickly losing control of her swirling emotions – she needed to get off the street before anyone could see her in this state. She found the nearest door and hurriedly made her way inside; thankfully, it just so happened to be an inn. It was midday so the place was deserted, save for the innkeeper and a haggard looking man in the corner who was passed out drunk.

Aylo walked up to the innkeeper. He had his back turned to her and was busy arranging bottles. She placed her hands on the counter and took a deep breath – she needed to pull herself together just long enough to rent a room. Aylo cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The man quickly glanced over his shoulder at Aylo and went back to organizing shelf full of alcohol.

"I'll be with you in a second, let me just…there we go!" He exclaimed, standing on the tips of his toes and reaching up to grab a bottle from the top shelf. He turned to face Aylo. He was a rather short and portly man, with a full beard and a jovial, friendly face; he smiled amiably at her.

"Sorry about that." He set the bottle down on the counter between them, "Now what can I do for you, madam?"

"Yes, I'd like to – "

"Hold on a second, are you…?" He cut her off. He strained his eyes, scrutinizing her face. Aylo shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"By the Light, it is you: Talyiah!" He exclaimed.

Aylo shuddered inwardly at hearing her name.

_I should have known that word of my appearance would travel fast_. She tried to speak up but didn't get the chance.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, M'Lady." He gushed, bowing, "What services can I provide you?"

Aylo smiled half-heartedly, but politely, in response to his extravagant courtesy. "I'd just like to stay here for the night."

"Of course!" He reached under the counter and Aylo heard the jingling of keys. "Ah, here we go!" He stood back up and handed her a heavy iron key, "Up the stairs, third door on the right."

"I appreciate it." Aylo said, forcing a smile, "How much do I owe you?" She reached for the pouch of coins at her belt.

"That won't be necessary." He waved his hand, dismissing her money, "There's no charge."

"Oh… well thank you." She replied, "You're too generous."

"It's the least I can do." He grinned, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No thank you." She said, turning to go upstairs, "That's all." She walked a few steps before she was stopped by his voice.

"M'Lady!" He called after her. Aylo bit her lip in growing frustration; she turned to face him.

"Can I offer you a drink?" He held up the bottle he had taken down earlier, an expectant look on his face. "It's on the house."

"No thanks, I don't – " Aylo stopped. She had never been much of a drinker, but she sure as hell could use one now. "Actually, yes, I would like one."

The innkeeper smiled and produced a small glass from under the counter and placed it in front of him, "I just got this stuff in a few days ago, straight from Ironforge. I've had some myself; its top shelf for a reason."

He pulled the cork and it popped loudly. Even from a few feet away Aylo could smell the alcohol – it made her nose burn. He carefully filled the glass and slid it over to her, "Enjoy."

Aylo snatched up the glass and brought it to her lips. She threw it back in one gulp, slammed the glass back down on the counter and starting coughing uncontrollably; she felt like she had just swallowed fire.

"It burns a little, doesn't it!" He roared in laughter at her reaction.

"Yeah…*cough*…this is definitely…*cough*… top shelf." She said, chuckling slightly.

"Another?" He grabbed her glass, ready to pour her some more.

"Sure, why not." She grinned. She reached forward and held the cup as he poured.

"Now that's the spirit!" He exclaimed, topping off her glass.

Aylo tossed it back like she did the first one. It still burned but she didn't cough as much this time. She set the glass back down on the counter with a satisfied sigh – she decided she liked this guy.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name, sir." She said.

"My sincerest apologies M'Lady." He bowed again, as much as he could with the counter in the way, "I am Johann Bersil, the owner of this humble establishment."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Johann." Aylo said, extending her hand to him.

"The pleasure is all mine." He responded, shaking her hand.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go to my room now."

"Of course, go right ahead."

"Thanks for the drinks." She added.

"Ah, don't mention it." He replied, "Come down anytime for more if you want."

Aylo smiled and nodded respectfully and made her way to the back of the room. She climbed the stairs and found the room that Johann was letting her use for free. Aylo slid the key into the hole under the doorknob and turned. The lock mechanism opened smoothly and clicked; Aylo pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was decent enough. There was a simple bed in the corner, a nightstand, and a wash basin. Besides those three items the room was bare; except for the area rug, its threads exposed from wear. Aylo didn't mind though; the room was clean and that was all she really cared about.

Aylo sighed and closed the door behind her, locking it. She shuffled over to the bed and plopped onto the mattress. The momentary distraction of the alcohol was beginning to wear off and her depression and anxiety were starting to set in again.

Aylo groaned in frustration and threw herself back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling, still conflicted over what she should do about Sylnarri. Now that she'd had some time to think, she felt bad about running like she had and leaving Sylnarri by herself. Still, she didn't feel like going out and finding her, she didn't think she could face the elf; she needed time collect her emotions.

Aylo doubted that Sylnarri would leave town, so she decided that she would look for her in the morning. At the very least, Aylo wanted to say goodbye to Sylnarri since the elf probably would never want to see her again.

_She'll never want to see me again…_

Aylo sighed sadly and curled up on the bed; she noted off-handedly that the bed was actually fairly comfortable. With thoughts of all her flaws and failures, and Sylnarri, Aylo closed her eyes and drifted off into a troubled sleep.

* * *

_Aylo opened her eyes. She sat atop a horse in the middle of great plain, an endless expanse of gently rolling hills and wide open sky around her. She also felt heavy, and she realized it was because she was wearing a full suit of armor. Aylo tried to look around but couldn't. In fact, she couldn't move any part of her body, no matter how hard she tried._

'_What the hell is this?' She thought, confused._

…_.*boom*….*boom*…*boom*….._

'_And what the hell was that?' She asked herself. Off in the distance she could hear a deep, ominous, thudding sound._

"_Our enemy approaches, M'Lady." Aylo was startled at the voice – it was a man's, and close._

_Aylo felt her head turn to the right, allowing her to see who had spoken. Beside her was knight, mounted and heavily armed. He was equipped with heavy plate armor, as was his mighty warhorse. He wore a blue tabard that bore the lion insignia of Stormwind. In his right hand he held a lance; the top was fastened with blue and gold streamers that flapped in the wind. Across his back was strapped a great battle-axe, the blade nearly as wide as he was. He reached up and lifted his visor, looking sternly – expectantly – at Aylo._

"_Good." She heard herself say, "We've waited long enough."_

…_*boom*….*boom*…_

_The sound was getting closer now – Aylo was starting to get a bad feeling about this._

"_Indeed, we have." The knight nodded in agreement. He quickly glance behind him and then turned his gaze back to Aylo, "Our forces are ready; they await only your command."_

_Aylo felt herself shift in her saddle and turn around. Aylo felt her heart drop to her feet as she took in the scene._

'_No, no, no!' She groaned to herself._

_Behind her there stood a vast army, stretching back as far as she could see. Hundreds of banners were present, and Aylo could identify all of them. She saw several Stormwind flags, but also some from Khaz Modan and even a few night elf ones. Closest to her was a host of about one thousand knights, their armor resplendent in the midday sun, their horses rearing and pawing the ground nervously. A cheer went up from the assembled cavalry as they saw Aylo looking back at them – Aylo felt herself raise her fist in the air, making them cheer louder._

'_I'm at the head of an entire army…..'_

…_*boom*…*boom*…*BOOM*…._

_The pounding was definitely much closer now and Aylo recognized them now – Horde war drums. Aylo knew this was a dream by now and she tried desperately to wake up – she didn't want to see what was about to happen. _

_Ahead, on the crest of a hill, she saw the first line of Horde soldiers appear. Among their ranks, Aylo could see gigantic war beasts, along with hundreds of lumbering tauren wielding impossibly large, cruel looking weapons. The Horde host advanced until they were about half a mile away from the Alliance lines. Aylo looked across the field with dread; the Horde forces just endless as the Alliance ones. The opposing sides stood in silence for a few moments, as if sizing each other up; the only movement was the fluttering of the banners on both sides as they blew in the gentle breeze._

_Suddenly, an orc – much larger than the rest – stepped forward out of line and raised his massive fist in the air and then slammed it against his chest, letting out a mighty battle cry. The air erupted as the rest of the Horde joined in, the blast of sound nearly shattering her eardrums. Behind her, Aylo heard an equally deafening roar from the Alliance in response. Aylo felt herself shouting as well, adding her voice cacophony. Aylo's hand moved swiftly to her waist and she drew her sword, raising it straight up in air, the sun glinting off its razor edge, and kicked her horse into a slow trot towards the Horde._

'_Wake up!' She shouted to herself, but to no avail._

_Even though she didn't think it possible, the intensity and volume of the eager soldier's shouting raised a level as Aylo began to advance. Trumpets blared, and there was a massive ringing of steel as thousands of weapons were drawn in unison. The rest of the army began to move forward, with Aylo at the head._

_The orc in front motioned forward with his large double-headed axe, and set off at a slow jog and the rest followed suit. The war drums began pounding again, much faster and louder than before._

_Aylo felt herself spur her horse to a slow gallop and she brought her sword down to her side. The knight from before rode right next to her, his visor down and lance pointed forward. The opposing sides were little more than a quarter mile apart now, and Aylo pushed her horse into full on gallop. Behind her she heard the knights pick up their pace to match her, the thundering of their steed's hooves adding to the discord. _

'_No, no! Wake up!' She was panicking now. It was terrifying; all she could do was watch helplessly as her body charged headlong towards the mass of Horde warriors._

_*BOOM BOOM BOOM*_

_The drums grew even louder as Aylo raced at break-neck speed towards the Horde lines, her horse taking in great breaths of air to fuel its pounding heart. Aylo felt herself lean forward and hunker down into the saddle, bracing for imminent impact._

_*BOOM BOOM*_

_The drums were all Aylo could hear now, they drowned out every other noise. There was only a couple dozen yards between her and the first rank of orcs – Aylo raised her sword, ready to spill blood. The large orc she had seen earlier was sprinting right towards her, pure hatred in his red eyes._

_*BOOM BOOM BOOM*_

_With only a few yards remaining, the orc leaped through the air towards her with a fearsome roar, axe raised over his head. Aylo was pleading with herself to wake up now._

_*BOOM*_

_Aylo stood up in her saddle, using the horse's mane to steady herself, rising to the orc's challenge. She pulled her sword back and aimed it at the orc, preparing to thrust forward and impale him. She yelled back at him as he sailed through the air towards her. They were mere seconds from impact._

'_Noo!'_

_*_knock knock knock_*_

Aylo was suddenly back in the room, out of breath and covered in a cold sweat. Aylo sat up and moved her arms, relieved to find that she could control her body once again. Aylo shuddered, the dream still clear in her mind. While she often had dreams about the battles she had been in, the one she had just experienced had never happened. This was the first time she had ever dreamed of an imaginary battle, but it felt almost as real as others she had fought in.

*knock…knock…knock*

Aylo was pulled from her thoughts by a soft knocking on the door. Aylo scooted to the edge of the bed and put her hooves on the floor. She sighed wearily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

*knock…knock*

_Who could that be; at this hour? _Aylo yawned and looked out the window; the sun had nearly set in the time she'd been asleep. There was another series of knocks.

"Just a minute." Aylo called out, stretching her arms and pushing herself off the bed. She shuffled over to the wash basin. She cupped her hands together, dipped them into the cool water, and then raised them back up. The water felt refreshing as it washed over her face and ran down her neck, rinsing away the sweat and the last vestiges of fatigue – more rapping on the door.

Aylo grabbed a nearby towel and dried herself. She crossed the room to the door and unlocked it. Aylo opened the door a few inches and peered outside.

There, in the hallway, stood Sylnarri. She had her fist raised read to knock again, but she smiled sheepishly and lowered her hand when she saw Aylo – Sylnarri opened her mouth to speak.

Aylo slammed the door shut and leaned with her back against it, she was suddenly out of breath again and her heart was racing. She had totally forgotten about Sylnarri; she had been too occupied thinking about her dream. Aylo jumped as Sylnarri pounded, not angrily, on the door.

"Aylo, please, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sylnarri's pleading voice was somewhat muffled by the door, "I want…need to talk to you."

Aylo stood there, the shock of Sylnarri's appearance was beginning to wear off but she wasn't sure if she was read to go face-to-face with her yet.

"Aylo, please open the door." Sylnarri said, her words soft, "I'm…I'm really worried about you."

_Worried about me?! She's the one who has been living with a murdered the past few weeks!_

"Aylo, please…" She begged, "…let me in."

Aylo knew that she couldn't shut Sylnarri out; the problem wouldn't go away if she just ignored it. Aylo pushed herself off the door and closed her eyes, steadying herself. Before she could change her mind, Aylo reached out and turned the doorknob. The door swung open as Sylnarri pushed it open.

"Thanks." Sylnarri said, smiling nervously," Here, you dropped your bag." She handed it to Aylo.

Aylo just nodded in thanks and looked at the floor, unsure of what to say. Aylo walked back over to the bed and sat down stiffly with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Sylnarri quietly closed the door and strode over to Aylo, stopping in front of her.

There was a long moment of silence, neither of them knowing how to start – Sylnarri spoke first.

"I guess you're not a cartographer after all." Sylnarri offered, smiling faintly and twirling a strand of her hair anxiously. Aylo didn't respond.

"You know…" She continued, laughing nervously, "…you've become somewhat of a myth among my people, a bedtime story to scare little children so they'll behave."

_Wow, I really am a monster_. Aylo thought, unsurprised, but it still made her feel even worse.

"I'm sorry!" Sylnarri said quickly, observing Aylo's reaction, "I shouldn't have told you that…I just…just…" Sylnarri started pacing the floor in front of Aylo, trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm just…surprised, to say the least." She began, wringing her hands nervously.

"I just…don't…" She stammered, "…Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

Aylo didn't reply, she just stared at Sylnarri's boots as she walked back and forth in front of her.

"I mean, I suppose I can understand why you didn't tell me when we first met." She continued, "But afterwards… after we got to know each other better…you could have told me then."

Aylo looked silently down at her hands, too overcome with guilt and shame to look Sylnarri in the eye.

"Aylo!" Sylnarri pleaded, stopping her pacing and moving to stand right in front of her, "Look at me!" She grabbed Aylo firmly, but gently, by the chin and lifted her head up. Aylo looked at Sylnarri; her beautiful face was lined with worry and her green eyes were full of concern – concern for her. "Talk to me." Sylnarri whispered softly, comfortingly.

Aylo felt tears building up behind her eyes again, ready to spill at any moment. Aylo tried to look away before they fell, but she was too slow.

"Oh Aylo…" Sylnarri soothed, sitting down next to her and embracing her, "…Don't cry; it's okay, I'm not mad at you." She whispered as she stroked Aylo's hair.

Aylo wrapped her arms around Sylnarri and cried on her shoulder. _Why is she so nice to me? I don't deserve it._

"I'm...I'm sorry." Aylo mumbled miserably, hugging the elf tighter.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Aylo; it's alright." Sylnarri consoled, gently rocking them back and forth.

"Its just…I was afraid that…that if I told you…*sniffle*… that you would hate me." Aylo sobbed.

Sylnarri pulled back a little gave her a sympathetic, understanding look.

"I don't hate you, Aylo." Sylnarri assured her.

"But how can you even stand to be in the same room as me...*sniffle*...knowing what I've done to your kind?" Aylo asked, the tears still falling.

Sylnarri sat back slightly, her hands still around Aylo's waist, and looked at her earnestly.

"I care more about who you _are_, rather than who you _were." _She said solemnly, "Admittedly, it does bother me a bit to think about the things you've done…" Sylnarri let go of Aylo and instead grabbed the draenei's hands, toying idly with her fingers, "…but that was years ago, and you were only doing your job." Sylnarri laced her fingers with Aylo's. "But you're different now; you saved my life Aylo…" Sylnarri smiled, "…and you've been nothing but kind to me ever since."

Aylo averted her eyes down, looking at their interlocked hands, "That still doesn't change anything; those people are all still dead."

Sylnarri reached forward and tilted Aylo's head back up and looked deeply into her eyes, "You're right, that can't be undone; nothing can change that – but _you've_ changed, Aylo."

Aylo sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Do you really think so?" Aylo asked, looking intently at Sylnarri; the elf smiled warmly at her.

"I know so." Sylnarri said, squeezing Aylo's hand for emphasis, "You're the nicest, most caring, and sincere person I've come across, and I'm glad that we're friends…" She paused slightly, "…that is if...if you still want to be friends; do you?"

Aylo nodded quickly, unable to speak at the moment, too overcome with emotion.

"Me too," Sylnarri smiled shyly.

Aylo smiled weakly, but genuinely, and dried the rest of her tears, "Thanks for being so understanding Sylnarri. I'm… I'm sorry for running away and closing the door on you earlier, I was too afraid to face you… thanks for coming after me."

"Of course, Aylo..." Sylnarri soothed, leaning forward and hugging her tightly, "…Anytime. Just relax now; you have nothing to worry about."

Aylo rested her chin on Sylnarri's shoulder and closed her eyes. It was hard to imagine that this morning she had woken up in the woods, and everything that had happened after that – today had been a long and eventful day. Aylo wiped all that from her mind, however, and focused on the present – the feeling of having Sylnarri in her arms again. Aylo blinked back fresh tears as she thought of how close she had come to losing Sylnarri. She held the elf tighter, silently thanking the powers-that-be for seeing it fit to allow Sylnarri to remain in her life.

The two sat there, embraced, as the sun set over Hangman's Vigil.

* * *

Author's Note: I ran into some serious writer's block with this one, which is partly the reason it took me two weeks. I also took some more time to make this chapter as good as possible because I feel its pretty important. I feel pretty good about it except for the last few paragraphs, they feel kinda 'meh' to me. Also I'd like to apologize for how bad I am at using onomatopoeia, but I think you guys get the idea. Anyway, I hope the majority of you find this chapter satisfying; have a great day regardless.


	14. Leaving

"Feel free to stop by anytime, M'Lady." Johann Bersil called out from behind his counter.

Aylo paused before the exit and turned to face him, "Thanks Johann, I'll be sure to visit when I'm in town." She smiled and waved at him.

"You too, blood elf." Johann added, nodding at Sylnarri, "You're welcome here as well."

"Uh…thank you." Sylnarri replied, somewhat caught off guard by his offer.

Johann merely nodded again and grinned, raising his hand in farewell, "Y'all have a fine day now."

Aylo opened the door and stepped out into the crisp morning air. It was still dark out and the street was deserted; the only sound was the hissing of the gas powered lamp posts as they burned brightly. Aylo looked to the east, but there was no sign that the sun was about to rise anytime soon.

"Well, are you ready to depart, _M'Lady?" _Sylnarri smirked, sarcastically.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Aylo answered, ignoring Sylnarri's teasing, "Let's go."

* * *

They began their journey back to Aylo's cottage. It wasn't long before they passed through the town gate and were once again in the country side. Aylo was quiet for most of the walk back, content to listen to Sylnarri as she went on about whatever was on her mind: stories from when she was younger, places she wanted to visit, and people she'd met. The draenei just nodded and provided enough to the conversation to keep it alive. Aylo still felt a little awkward now that her identity had been revealed, but Sylnarri didn't seem to mind; she was as cheerful as ever. After the sun had risen and they had put a few miles behind them, Sylnarri's good mood began to rub off on Aylo and they began to banter back forth like they used to.

"And what did _you _say?!" Aylo asked, incredulous.

"So then _I _said." Sylnarri giggled, "'I'd rather duel a mid-level protection warrior than ever go on a date with you,' and then I punched him square in the jaw!"

"You did not!" Aylo laughed in disbelief, "You're so mean!"

"_He_ was the mean one!" She returned, "He wouldn't leave me alone and kept harassing me; he deserved it."

"I guess I should be more careful around you then." Aylo teased, "I had no idea you were so tough!"

Sylnarri laughed, rolled up her sleeve and flexed, "Nothing but pure muscle." She declared, scowling and making her voice go as deep as she could manage. Aylo started laughing even harder.

"These little toothpicks?!" Aylo scoffed, feeling Sylnarri's feeble arm muscles as she flexed, "These arms haven't seen a hard day's labor all their life!" Sylnarri pulled her arm back and rolled her sleeve down.

"Looks can be deceiving." She said, glancing slyly at Aylo from the corner of her eye.

"Yes." Aylo said, rolling her eyes, "I'm sure that you're very stro – AHH!"

Aylo fell to the ground as Sylnarri tackled her from the side; they went tumbling off the trail. They rolled downhill, crashing through the bushes and underbrush. They finally hit the bottom and Sylnarri landed on top of her, pinning her shoulders so she couldn't move.

"Sylnarri!" Aylo chuckled, somewhat out of breath, "What are you doing?! You're lucky we didn't hit a tree on the way down!"

"Come on." Sylnarri grinned, "If you think you're so tough, fight me."

"You're crazy!" Aylo laughed, but she put her hands on the elf's stomach and heaved her off effortlessly. She flipped the elf over on her back and tried to put herself on top. Sylnarri slipped out of her grasp, however, and before Aylo even knew what was happening the elf had her from behind in a choke-hold.

"Come on!" Sylnarri exclaimed, "Are you even trying?"

"I don't want to hurt you!" Aylo replied, still amused that Sylnarri was trying to fight her. She squirmed, trying to get out of Sylnarri's arms, but she actually had a good hold on her.

"You won't hurt me, I promise." She whispered into Aylo's ear.

"You sure?" Aylo asked, turning her head as much possible to try to look at Sylnarri.

"I'm posi—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Aylo grabbed Sylnarri's arm, the one around her neck, with both her hands, contracted her abdominal muscles, and pulled down with all her strength – Sylnarri went flying over her shoulder and slammed onto the ground in front of Aylo.

Aylo quickly scrambled on top of Sylnarri and pinned her, but she offered no resistance – she was too busy gasping for air.

"Are you okay?" Aylo asked, feeling a little guilty; she hadn't meant to throw her that hard.

"Yeah…I'm fine…I'm fine…." Sylnarri answered breathlessly, trying to focus her vision, "I guess…that settles that…you're tougher."

Aylo laughed, letting up on her a little, "You didn't do too bad though; you're faster than I anticipated."

"Yeah?" Sylnarri smiled, starting to recover, "Kind of like…this?!" She shot her hand towards Aylo's face. The draenei was caught off guard and wasn't able to block. Sylnarri put her palm on Aylo chin and pushed up, forcing the draenei's head back. Underneath her, Aylo could feel the elf lift her hips in an attempt to throw her off; Aylo shifted and put her full weight on Sylnarri to keep her down.

"Narri!" Aylo laughed, "Get your hand off my face!" She grabbed Sylnarri by the forearm but was having a hard time prying her off. Eventually, she managed to tear Sylnarri's hand away, and then she quickly pinned it against the ground above the elf's head. Sylnarri tried the same thing with her other hand but Aylo caught her this time.

"No!" Sylnarri cried, "I can't lose!" She pushed against Aylo, trying to free her arm, but Aylo easily over-powered her. The draenei pushed her arm upwards to where her other one was and grabbed both her wrists with one hand, holding them in her iron grip. Sylnarri struggled and squirmed and kicked, but Aylo wouldn't budge.

"Okay." Sylnarri gave up, exhausted for her exertions to free herself, "You win."

"It would appear so." Aylo responded, grinning, not even breaking a sweat. Aylo beamed, looking down into Sylnarri's bright green eyes. Sylnarri smiled timidly and looked up at Aylo expectantly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Aylo's heart jumped as she realized the position they were in – she was sitting on top of Sylnarri, who she had completely restrained, and their faces were only inches apart.

_Does she want me to kiss her?!_

Aylo glanced again at Sylnarri and her question was answered – Sylnarri was staring at her with the most intense gaze that she had have ever seen. Aylo could feel the tension in the air.

"You did better that time!" Aylo exclaimed, using enthusiasm to hide her how nervous she was, "You just lack the raw power that I have!" She joked, laughing. She released Sylnarri's arms and sat back on the elf's stomach. Aylo began to get up but Sylnarri reached out and quickly grabbed her arm.

"Hold on a second." She said hurriedly, "I still need to catch my breath."

Aylo sat back down, completely aware that she was still straddled over Sylnarri – she began to feel a self-conscious. They sat there quietly for a few moments, listening to the chirping of the birds and the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Sylnarri observed, sitting up and leaning back on her hands; she was now eye level with Aylo.

"Umm…yeah, I suppose so." Aylo said, looking around briefly at their surroundings.

"Too bad it won't last for much longer." Sylnarri continued, "I'm not too fond of cold weather." She sat up a little more, bringing herself nearer to Aylo.

"Yeah," Aylo laughed nervously, noticing how close Sylnarri was getting, "Summer has always been my favorite season."

"Really? That's my second favorite; I've always liked spring." She brought her face closer to Aylo's, locking onto her with those shining, emerald eyes.

Aylo's pulse began to quicken. She had been living alone for a long time, but she could tell when someone was coming on to her, and Sylnarri wasn't trying to be subtle about her intentions.

_Should I tell her?! There's no doubt now that she…has feelings for me: she's practically begging me to make a move_!

Aylo's mouth was suddenly very dry.

"Sylnarri…I…" She began.

"Yes, Aylo?" Sylnarri whispered, hastily closing the gap between them until they were barely an inch apart; Aylo could feel her breath on her skin.

"…I…" She looked at Sylnarri's soft, pink lips; she only had to lean forward a little and they would touch her own.

"Yes…?" Sylnarri asked again, her voice even softer than before. She slowly ran her hand up the nape of Aylo's neck and gently grabbed a handful of her hair; she ran her tongue lightly across her lips.

"…I…I – I think we should head back to the trail." Aylo mumbled, averting her eyes down. She pulled back a few inches from Sylnarri.

"Oh…" Sylnarri responded, letting go of Aylo and leaning back – she started blushing deeply, "Yeah, of course… the sooner we get back the better."

Aylo wanted slap herself.

_It was right there! I let my nerves get the better of me!_

Aylo clenched her teeth in self-directed anger. She got up and offered Sylnarri her hand.

"Thanks." She said shyly, accepting Aylo's help. She stood up and brushed the leaves and dirt off her clothes and ran her fingers through her blond hair, avoiding eye contact.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

"Shall we go then?" Sylnarri asked, her voice tight with tension – her face was still bright red.

"Yeah." Aylo sighed disappointedly, wishing she had a time machine, "I think it's this way."

* * *

After a few minutes they found the trail and resumed their walk back. Aylo tried to make small talk along the way but Sylnarri wasn't being as responsive as before. Eventually though, her embarrassment wore off. She opened up again and soon they were laughing and joking again. They stopped when it got dark and set up a small camp for the night. They rose early, had a quick breakfast, and set off again. Within a couple of hours, Aylo could see her little cabin.

"Well." Aylo said, "We made it back safe and sound."

"Uhh, finally." Sylnarri complained, "My feet are killing me; I haven't taken off these boots since I fell into that creek on the way to town."

They walked out of the woods and crossed the open field to the cottage. Aylo stepped up on the porch and dug in her pocket for the house key.

"Oh, Aylo, I almost forgot to tell you..." Sylnarri said quietly.

"Tell me what?" Aylo asked, finding the key and putting it into the lock.

"That I'm…uhh…" She bit her lip nervously, "That…I plan on leaving in a few days; plan on going home." She said slowly. Sylnarri watched Aylo closely, gauging her reaction.

Aylo froze for a second, her thought processes halted from the shock. She recovered quickly though, masking her devastation at the sudden news.

"Yeah, of course, that's fine." Aylo lied, "It's not like I expected you to stay here forever anyway."

"In my letter I told my sister that I'm still coming up to Silvermoon to see her; she'll be expecting me." Aylo thought she sounded almost apologetic.

"Yeah, sounds good." Aylo tried to smile convincingly, "I'll help you pack for the trip; I'll even draw up a map for you."

"Thanks." Sylnarri smiled sweetly, but with a hint of sadness, and placed a hand lightly on Aylo's forearm, "That'd be a huge help."

"No problem." Aylo turned the key and opened the door.

_She's leaving_...

Those two words were the only thing Aylo could think of as she walked into her house. She pulled her off her bag and tossed it on the kitchen counter; She could hear Sylnarri in the bedroom unpacking her things.

Aylo slumped heavily down onto her favorite stool, idly remembering when she had built it last summer. Aylo sighed and looked over at her bedroom, watching Sylnarri put her things away and reflecting back on what she told her; she suddenly felt very empty.

* * *

Vithir dropped the envelope in the mailbox and sighed; so far there had been no luck finding Sylnarri. He had departed Silvermoon two weeks ago and visited every town, city, and roadside inn between the Ghostlands and the Wetlands; and still no trace of Sylnarri. At every town he sent a letter back to Sellanor to keep her updated on how the search was going. He felt worse and worse every time he sent a letter back informing Sellanor that he still hadn't found her sister; he could only imagine how distressed she might be at Sylnarri's prolonged disappearance.

Vithir leaned against the side of the inn to protect himself from the rain. He reached into his long coat and pulled out a map of the southern Eastern Kingdoms. Presently, he was in Menethil Harbor. He studied the map, trying to decide where he should go next. To the east were the Twilight Highlands and the Badlands, and south of those, the Burning Steppes. Vithir assumed that it was unlikely for Sylnarri to travel through those dangerous areas, so he ruled out the whole east side of the continent; it was much more probable that she had been travelling north along the western half of the continent.

_Dun Morogh…Red Ridge Mountains…Elwynn Forest…Duskwood?_

"She has to be somewhere in one of those areas." He said to himself, frowning at the map. He placed his finger on Ironforge.

"I'll take the tram here…" He slid his finger over to Stormwind, "…to here…if she's in Elwynn she'll be easy to find; can't be many blood elves there – that's where I'll start."

Set on his next course, Vithir rolled up the map and placed it back in his coat. He pulled his hood back up and stepped out into the rain, trudging through the muddy ground to where he had tied his horse – he quickly loosened the knot and mounted up. He spurred his horse to a fast trot and left Menethil Harbor behind.

* * *

Author's Note: So I had free time today, and I feel pretty bad for taking so long to update this past month and a half, so I decided to go ahead and write Chpt. 14. Its not very long, its more of a bridge into the next chapter. Also, I know the prot. warrior reference is a little out of place, but I thought it was pretty funny. I'll try to get Chpt.15 up before Friday, but no promises. Hope you found this chapter satisfying though, it was fun to write - have a great day.


	15. Not Alone

_Just a quick preface here: Last week I added a large section to the beginning of Chp.13. Most of you have probably already read it, but just in case any of you haven't yet, I think it makes the story better and I would recommend going back and reading it before continuing, sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Enjoy!_

The next couple of days went by too fast for Aylo's liking – all she could think about was Sylnarri's inevitable departure. She had grown used to the blood elf's company and the thought of living alone again seemed rather bleak to her. Aylo tried to enjoy their last few days together, but nothing could lift her spirits. She had considered asking Sylnarri to stay a while longer, but eventually decided against it.

_It would be selfish of me to do so. _Aylo thought while glancing at Sylnarri, who was just finishing her bowl of stew. _She actually has a family, a life, and I shouldn't keep her here any longer._

Sylnarri saw Aylo looking at her and flashed the draenei a smile; Aylo returned it half-heartedly and continued eating.

They were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace eating dinner. Aylo gazed into the flames and tried not to dwell on the fact that Sylnarri was leaving in the morning, but to no avail; she swallowed down her food and sighed sadly.

"Are you alright, Aylo?" Sylnarri asked, concerned, "You haven't said much all evening."

"Yes, I'm fine." She lied, "I'm just tired is all." She stood up and stretched, noticing that Sylnarri's bowl was empty.

"Do you want some more?" Aylo asked, pointing to the dish on Sylnarri's lap.

"Oh, yes please." She said politely, handing Aylo the bowl, "It was fantastic."

Aylo walked over to the counter where the cooking pot was. She grabbed the ladle and dipped it into the steaming broth, carefully refilling both of their bowls.

"Here you go." Aylo said, sitting back down next to Sylnarri and offering her one of the bowls.

"Thanks." Sylnarri replied, taking it from her, "How did you learn to cook so well anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Aylo shrugged, idly swirling the stew with her spoon, "I guess I'm just a natural at it." She blew on it to cool it off.

"If only I was half as skilled as you, I might have opened up a store somewhere!" Sylnarri joked, but her smile faded as Aylo just silently stared gloomily and indifferently at her food. Sylnarri sighed quietly to herself. She didn't like seeing Aylo so despondent, and wished she would talk to her. Sylnarri put a spoonful to her mouth and listened to the quiet symphony of crickets playing outside, and to the soft crackling and popping of the fire.

"You know…" Sylnarri began, setting her bowl aside, "…I'm going to miss this place." She hugged her knees to her chest and turned to face Aylo.

"Yeah?" Aylo responded, looking up.

"I will." She said while tossing her hair, the firelight making it glow like gold, "It's just so peaceful out here; it's like being in your own little world." That made Aylo chuckled a little.

"Well that was kind of the whole idea." She explained, "I came out here to get away from everything."

"But…why?" Sylnarri asked, curious, "I mean…everyone seems to praise and look up to you, but you just live out here all alone." Aylo went quiet for moment, thinking of what to say.

"Some…things happened." She said finally, carefully, "And as a result, I didn't want anything more to do with the Alliance…or being around people in general."

"What kind of things?" Sylnarri ventured, trying to sound innocent while scooting closer to Aylo.

"I…I'm not sure if I'm comfortable talking about it Sylnarri." Aylo said uneasily, glancing worriedly at her.

"Come on." Sylnarri encouraged, "You can tell me." She placed her soft hand gently on Aylo's forearm. Aylo was about to protest but stopped when she saw the compassion in Sylnarri's eyes as the elf looked at her; Sylnarri smiled kindly at her, "You can tell me." She repeated.

Aylo bit her lip nervously and looked into the fire, contemplating on if she should tell her. Aylo could barely handle recounting those events in her own mind, let alone speak them out loud to another person.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Aylo asked suddenly, turning to face Sylnarri and looking at her intently. Sylnarri eagerly nodded in affirmation.

Aylo sighed and took a deep breath, trying to think of where to begin.

"Well." She began, "I guess it started when I seventeen, after I had enlisted…" Aylo then went on for hours, telling Sylnarri everything: from the first peaceful years in the Alliance army to the outbreak of the war and all the battles, to the little village and blood elf girl.

"…and after all that, they still think I'm a hero." Aylo said bitterly, feeling her anger rise, "And for what – for killing people?!" She clenched her jaw tightly, "That's all they see…they see the battles and medals I've won, but not the scars and self-doubt the war left me with!" Aylo recognized her growing anger and took a breath to calm herself down. She then looked over at Sylnarri.

"That's why I live out here." She said, quietly, "I can't stand people praising me – congratulating me for murder." Aylo averted her eyes, looking down at her lap, "If that's what it means to be a hero, then I never want to be one."

Surprisingly, Aylo noticed that she felt better now, like a weight that had been wearing her down for years had been lifted – she felt oddly contented.

"Thanks for listening Sylnarri." Aylo said, turning to face her, "I really feel like – are…are you crying?!" She asked, alarmed.

"A little." Sylnarri sniffled while wiping away a tear away with the back of her hand.

"Hold on." Aylo told her, getting up and retrieving a cloth from a cabinet above the sink. She hurried back to Sylnarri and offered it to her, "Here you go."

"Thanks." Sylnarri said gratefully, taking it from Aylo and dabbing at her eyes, "Sorry, I just…that's so sad, I had no idea." More tears began to fall.

"Aww…don't cry Narri." Aylo squatted down, hugging her and laughing a little, "That all happened a long time ago…I've put most of it behind me now."

"Yeah…yeah I know." Sylnarri said, leaning into Aylo, "But why do you still live out here still…*sniffle…* if you say you're over it?" She looked up at Aylo with watery eyes.

"Well, I said I was _mostly _over it; every now then the memories come back and I feel as awful as I used to." Aylo admitted, but then added optimistically, "But I've grown to like living out here in my little house."

"Yeah." Sylnarri agreed, drying her eyes and smiling, "I like it too." She laughed and hugged Aylo back, "Sorry, sometimes I just cry."

"It's okay." Aylo patted her gently on the back, "Everybody cries every now and then." They sat there for a few moments until Sylnarri pulled back.

"Well, I really should be going to bed now." Sylnarri said, sounding rather disappointed, "It's getting late and I need to rest up for tomorrow."

"Yeah, of course." Aylo felt her chest tighten – she had completely forgotten that Sylnarri was leaving, "I should go to sleep too; I'll wake up with you and cook us a good breakfast."

Sylnarri stood up and straightened out her clothes, "That sounds great, I'm sure it'll be amazing."

"I'll try my best." Aylo smiled thinly and got to her feet. Sylnarri looked down and played nervously with her hands. Aylo thought that she looked like she was about to say something, but she just looked up and gave her a half-hearted smile, "Well…goodnight, I guess."

"Yeah…goodnight." Aylo returned, quietly. She watched as Sylnarri walked off to her bedroom. Sylnarri stopped at the doorway and looked over her shoulder at Aylo for a long moment before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

Aylo sighed deeply and slumped back down onto the floor. She stared dismally at the dying fire, feeling like her whole world was about to end again.

* * *

Talis sat impatiently, tapping his fingers on the oak table. His contact was supposed to be here an hour ago and he was growing tired of waiting. He scanned the bustling inn one more time, hoping that maybe his contact had slipped in without him noticing, but he didn't see him. Talis was sitting in the far corner of the room, away from the rowdy crowd in the center. It was a full house tonight but Talis didn't mind, it just helped him blend in more. After waiting for a few more minutes, he cursed and made to stand but stopped as a hooded figure suddenly pulled out the chair across from him and took a seat at the table.

"Well it's about time you decided to show up." Talis greeted him, irritated. The man regarded him silently for moment before responding.

"That's interesting coming from you, seeing as you've been working this simple job for weeks and still haven't completed it." His speech and words had a measured, smooth, cadence.

"It would have been done long ago." Talis countered, "But there have been complications and obstacles that I didn't plan for."

A serving girl walked up to their table and placed another pint in front of Talis and he flipped her silver coin. They waited until she was gone before resuming their conversation.

"All I hear is excuses." The man waved his hand irritably at him, "We want results, not more of your worthless words."

Talis swallowed his pride at that comment and bit back a retort.

"Listen." He said leaning forward, "I'll have her delivered by the end of week – that is, of course, if you brought the items I requested."

"Of course I brought them." The man said, "Why the hell would I be here if I didn't?" He reached into the folds of his robes and withdrew a bag. He set it on the table and slid it over to Talis, "With this be sufficient for you?" He grabbed the bag and opened it, peering inside.

"It's more than enough." Talis said impressed, "I see you added some extra stuff – very nice."

"Now you have no excuse to fail." The man said flatly, standing up, "Be warned Talis, one more mistake and it won't end well for you."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Talis said, annoyed, "You just go back and tell him that he'll have Sylnarri, unharmed, in his possession soon enough."

"We shall see." And with that, the man turned and left.

Talis sighed happily and kicked back in his chair, taking a swig of ale, imaging what he was going to do with all the money that was soon to be his.

* * *

"That was great Aylo!" Sylnarri exclaimed, setting her fork down, "Thank you."

"My pleasure." Aylo said, gathering their plates and putting them into the sink, "I'm glad you liked it."

"Loved it more like." Sylnarri grinned, and then sighed, "Well…I guess I should be going now, I've been in your hair long enough I suppose." She looked at Aylo and smiled weakly.

"Come on, I'll walk you to door." Aylo already felt the dread coming over her as she spoke. Sylnarri bent down and hauled up her full travel bag, slinging it over her shoulder. They walked together and Aylo opened the door for her. The morning was bright and crisp and the leaves had just begun to change color. Sylnarri walked out the door and turned to face Aylo.

"Do you have everything?" Aylo asked anxiously, "I don't want you to forget anything."

"Yes, I doubled checked when I woke up."

"And the map?"

"Yes Aylo…" Sylnarri sighed in mock annoyance, "…I have the map as well." She patted her pocket where she had put it.

"I – I just don't want you to get lost…is all." Aylo leaned against the doorframe.

"I won't." Sylnarri smiled and reassured her, "But I appreciate your concern anyway." Aylo just nodded and turned her gaze down, looking at her hooves. They stood there silently for a few moments, the gently blowing wind rustling the trees.

"Well, I guess this is it." Sylnarri said reluctantly, shrugging.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Aylo echoed softly as Sylnarri took a step towards her.

"Thanks Aylo…for everything." She looked earnestly at the draenei. "I don't think I could ever repay you for everything you've done for me."

"Don't mention it." Aylo said simply, not trusting her voice to say more than a few words. Sylnarri looked at her for a few moments longer and then suddenly burst into tears, throwing her arms desperately around Aylo's neck.

"I'm going to miss you Aylo!" She cried, her tears soaking through Aylo's shirt. Sylnarri was about to start making _her_ cry and she squeezed her eyes shut to keep the teardrops from falling.

"I know, I know." She whispered, hugging Sylnarri close, "I'm going to miss you too." Aylo let Sylnarri weep on her shoulder for as long as she needed. After a few minutes, Sylnarri pulled away. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she looked up at Aylo and tried to smile anyway.

"I suppose I should be on my way." She said, her words broken and uneven. She took a deep breath to calm herself and wiped her eyes. She smiled sadly at Aylo one last time and turned around to leave. Aylo felt her heart breaking with each step as she watched Sylnarri walk away. Time seemed to slow down as Aylo's mind raced.

_Am I really about to let the most important person in my life just walk out like that? _She thought anxiously herself. She tried to picture what she would do after Sylnarri left, all alone again, and she felt nothing but despair. True, she had learned to like the solitude, but after meeting Sylnarri she couldn't stand the thought of living without her. Being with Sylnarri made her feel happier than she'd ever been her whole life and she knew that she would regret letting her leave.

Sylnarri took another step, her boot resounding loudly on the wooden planks.

Aylo realized that if Sylnarri took a step off this porch, she would be gone for good. Her heart was beating painfully in her chest as she watched Sylnarri walk closer and closer to the edge, trying to decide what to do. She wanted nothing more in the world than for Sylnarri to stay, but she still was unsure as to whether or not it was right to ask her to do so, she felt selfish just thinking about it.

Sylnarri stepped forward, lifting her foot off the porch, ready to step down onto the dirt path.

_It's now or never! Time to choose!" _

Sylnarri began to lower her foot down onto the ground –

With a sudden rush of exhilaration, Aylo dashed forwards and grasped Sylnarri's hand, pulling her back. Sylnarri yelped in surprise as Aylo yanked her off-balance. She was about to fall over but Aylo caught her and drew her in close.

"Aylo!" She exclaimed, "What are you do – " She started, but Aylo immediately kissed her, silencing her. Aylo felt Sylnarri tense up and the elf pulled away.

"Aylo, I – " She began but was cut off again as Aylo pressed her lips against her's, a little more forcefully this time. The sensation was intoxicating and Aylo pushed harder, beginning to move her lips against Sylnarri's. As she did so, Sylnarri moaned softly and Aylo felt her relax into her arms. They kissed for a few more seconds and then Aylo pulled back. Sylnarri stood there, her eyes closed and mouth parted slightly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Why'd you stop?" She complained and opened her eyes half-way to look longingly at Aylo, a smile tugging at the corners of the elf's mouth. Aylo grinned and moved back in to kiss her, but this time Sylnarri met her in the middle. Aylo felt another rush of euphoria as Sylnarri's soft, moist lips were once again on hers. Sylnarri reached up, placed her hand behind Aylo's head and pulled her in, deepening their kiss; Aylo wrapped her arms around Sylnarri's waist and pulled her closer. They continued kissing with increasing vigor and Aylo, not breaking contact with Sylnarri, began to move back towards the door. Soon they were back inside and Aylo forcefully kicked the door, slamming it shut; Aylo pushed Sylnarri up against the wall.

"Wait." Sylnarri gasped breathlessly, forcing herself unwillingly away from Aylo, "I need to breathe." She panted, grinning at Aylo. Aylo smiled and waited in agony for what seemed like ages as Sylnarri caught her breath. After a few seconds Aylo couldn't help herself and moved back in, kissing her with even greater passion. Sylnarri moaned in pleasure and melted in Aylo's embrace. Aylo stopped and pulled back an inch, resting her forehead against Sylnarri's. Sylnarri looked at her, breathing heavily, her green eyes full of passion and tenderness.

"I don't want you to leave, Sylnarri." Aylo said quietly, her tone serious and full of yearning, "I want you to stay here…with me." She stroked Sylnarri's cheek lightly with her fingertips and gazed hopefully at her. Sylnarri grinned breathlessly and planted a soft, lingering, kiss on Aylo's lips.

"I thought you would never ask." Sylnarri smiled, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Aylo's face lit up and she pulled Sylnarri away from the wall, laughing joyously. She drew her in close and they began to kiss fervently again and quickly growing in intensity. Aylo fumbled with Sylnarri's backpack and eventually got it off and tossed it carelessly into the corner. Aylo placed her hands under Sylnarri's arms and picked her up, throwing her over her shoulder.

"Aylo!" Sylnarri giggled, "What are you doing?" Aylo just grinned but didn't answer. Suddenly Aylo let go, and Sylnarri plopped on her back down onto a bed – they were now in the bedroom.

"Umm…Aylo?" Sylnarri asked, her laugh dwindling, beginning to feel a little uneasy. Aylo just jumped on top of her, however, and began kissing her again. After a couple of seconds Sylnarri felt herself relax once more but then Aylo starting moving down, kissing her softly on the neck.

"Uh, Aylo?" She said uneasily, biting her lip nervously, "I – I don't think I'm ready for this." But Aylo didn't seem to hear her and continued what she was doing. Aylo's hand trailed down Sylnarri's side to the bottom of her shirt and she slid her hand underneath; she slowly began to lift up Sylnarri's top.

"Aylo!" Sylnarri protested, embarrassed. She squirmed uncomfortably and pushed Aylo's hand back down, "Quit it!" Aylo suddenly stopped and sat up.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry Sylnarri!" She apologized hastily, "I got carried away, I'm so sorry!" Sylnarri just frowned uncertainly, her cheeks red, and tugged her shirt down all the way.

"It's okay." She said finally, sitting up as Aylo got off of her, "I'm just…I don't…" She trailed off, feeling self-conscious.

"You don't what?" Aylo asked, sitting closer to her but being careful not to touch her for fear of upsetting her again, "What's wrong?"

"It's just that…I've…I've…" She struggled with her words, feeling her ears burn hotter each time she stumbled, "I – I've never…" Her body locked up again like it always did when she got exceedingly nervous.

"You've never…?" Aylo echoed, confused, but then sighed in sudden understanding, "Sylnarri, are you trying to tell me that you're a virgin?" Sylnarri instantly tucked her chin to her chest and put her up hands to hide her face, and Aylo knew she had hit the nail on the head.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Aylo soothed her, placing an arm around her shoulder, "Everyone is one at some point." But Sylnarri just sat there silently, her golden hair covering her face.

"Here, come on." Aylo said softly, standing up and pulling Sylnarri to her feet, "Let's go do something else." She led Sylnarri back to the kitchen and sat her down on her stool. Aylo decided she might as well do the dishes and went about cleaning them. After a few moments she looked worriedly over at Sylnarri.

"You do still want to stay…right?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes!" Sylnarri responded quickly, looking up and nodding.

"Okay, good." Aylo smiled, relieved. There were a couple seconds of silence and then Sylnarri spoke up.

"You…you're not mad at me, are you?" She asked timidly, twirling a strand of her hair, "About earlier?" Aylo took a rag and began drying a clean plate.

"No, of course not Sylnarri." Aylo said softly, "You're not ready and I respect that; I'm not going to pressure you into anything – take your time." Sylnarri smiled gratefully at her.

"Thanks." She said, still slightly embarrassed. Aylo just smiled and nodded at her and went back to washing, "I'm glad I decided to stay." Aylo stopped and looked warmly at her.

"Me too."

* * *

Author's Note: Finally, I was starting to get sick of Aylo's wish-washyness myself. I hoped the majority of you find this to be a satisfying continuation. As always, I'm open to comments, good or bad, and feel free to let me know what you think. If not, thats okay too, I still appreciate you taking the time to read. Anyway, have a splendid day.

P.S. Part of the reason it took me so long to get this up was because I was working on starting a new fanfic. It's a Killzone fanfic and I'm really excited, and if you feel like checking it out, awesome. I have the first chapter uploaded and you can find it on my profile. Thanks!.


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